Casper Oimoen (May 8, 1906 – July 28, 1995) was an American

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

champion.

Biography

Casper Oimoen was born at

Etnedal Etnedal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bruflat. The municipality is the 216th largest by area out of the 356 ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

, Norway. He immigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled near

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

. Unable to compete in the 1928 Olympics because he was not an American citizen, he entered the Olympics in 1932 and again as captain of the U.S. team in 1936, placing 5th and 13th respectively. Casper Oimoen won over 400 medals and trophies during his skiing career. He won the Northwestern Ski Jumping Championship nine times in nine entries, the Montana State Jumping Championship six times in six entries, the Central United States Championship ten times, six of them in consecutive years (1925-1931), and the United States National Ski Jumping Championship three times. In 1930, he won the Eastern, Central and National Championships, plus eight other firsts, a feat which has never been equaled. Oimoen was inducted into the U.S. Skiing Hall of Fame in 1963. Casper Oimoen was granted the

Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award is an award presented by the Governor of North Dakota, governor of the state of North Dakota to prominent North Dakotans. The award "recognizes present and former North Dakotans who have been influenced by th ...

by the Governor of the

State of North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east ...

in 1973. Today his portrait, by North Dakota artist Vern Skaug, is on display in the Hall of Fame at the North Dakota State Capital Building in Bismarck. He was inducted into the

Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame (SAHF) was established in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, by the Norsk Høstfest Association. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame is "an enduring means of honoring the persons of Scandinavian descent in North ...

in 1984. A bronze statue of Casper Oimoen stands in the

Scandinavian Heritage Park Scandinavian Heritage Park is a park located in the Upper Brooklyn neighborhood of Minot, North Dakota. Scandinavian Heritage Park features remembrances and replicas from each of the Scandinavian countries: Norway, Sweden and Denmark, as wel ...

in Minot, North Dakota.

References

External links

“Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Awards”

“American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame”

“U. S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oimoen, Casper 1906 births 1995 deaths People from Oppland American male ski jumpers Ski jumpers at the 1932 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Olympic ski jumpers for the United States Sportspeople from Minot, North Dakota Norwegian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American sportsmen

Biography

References

Further reading

External links