Ivar Mathisen (14 June 1920 – 7 October 2008) was a Norwegian

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who competed in the 1940s and early 1950s. He received a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with

Knut Østby Knut Østby (12 November 1922 – 6 August 2010) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Participating in three Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event at London in 1948 and an ...

. Mathisen finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m event at those same games.

Early life

He was a member of the canoeing club

Bærum KK Bærum Kajakklubb is a sports club from Bærum, Norway. Established in 1935, its only sport is canoe racing. It is based at Kalvøya, Bærum, Kalvøya outside of Sandvika, and has shared the locality with the rowing (sport), rowing club Bærum RK ...

from an early age. During the

German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, which started before Mathisen's twentieth birthday, the club was dissolved, but several members continued training. In the autumn of 1940 Mathisen and nine others also became involved in the resistance organization

Milorg Milorg (abbreviation of militær organisasjon – military organization) was the main Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. Resistance work included intelligence gathering, sabotage, supply-missions, raids, espionage, transport of ...

, in ''group 13321''. They held meetings on islands in the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; ) is an inlet in southeastern Norway. The fjord begins at the small village of Bonn in Frogn, Frogn Municipality and stretching northwards to the city of Oslo, and then curving to the east and then south again. It then flows s ...

during the summer, and held paramilitary exercises in the

Vestmarka Vestmarka is a forested and hilly area in Asker, Bærum and Lier which constitutes part of Oslomarka, Norway. The land is owned by Løvenskiold Vækerø and is a popular recreational area. It was the site of Braathens SAFE Flight 239 Braathe ...

forested area. Often, they would pick up crates dropped by British pilots. His place of work, the paper factory at Hamang, was also the site of exercises. Laborers practised shooting with

Sten submachine gun The STEN (or Sten gun) is a British submachine gun chambered in 9×19mm which was used extensively by Commonwealth of Nations, British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and during the Korean War. The Sten paired a simple design w ...

s and

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun (Brno-Enfield) was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by the United Kingdom in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in Worl ...

s in the cellar. Once, Mathisen told in an interview, they had stacked targets in front of an exit door, and their rounds went through the targets and the door, possibly revealing the shooting for onlookers. However, Mathisen was never discovered; according to his own statement he was never even controlled by soldiers or

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

Sporting career

Mathisen profited from his World War II physical activity. He took his first Norwegian national title in 1946, and eight more titles would follow, the last in 1953. Five of the titles came in relay races. He competed in the

1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in London, Great Britain. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation, formed in 1946 from the Internationale Repräsentantenschaft Kanusport (IRK). The men's ...

, and received a silver medal in K-1 4 x 500 metres relay, together with teammates

Ivar Iversen Ivar Iversen (24 August 1914 – 19 August 2012) was a Norwegian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1930s to the late 1940s. He won a gold medal in the K-1 4 x 500 m event at the 1948 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Londo ...

, Hans Martin Gulbrandsen and Eivind Skabo. Before the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

, Mathisen and his teammate

(also from Bærum) were considered as having the highest medal hopes in the Norwegian canoeing squad. Mathisen and Østby proceeded to win the silver medal in the K-2 10000 m event and finished fourth in the K-2 1000 m. Mathisen then received a silver medal in K-2 1000 m at the

1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark. This event was held under the International Canoe Federation. The men's competition consisted of four Canadian (single paddle, open boat) and nine kayak ] A ka ...

, with Knut Østby. At the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, he finished fifth in both the K-2 1000 m and K-2 10000 m events. Mathisen resided in

Vøyenenga Vøyenenga is a village in Bærum, Akershus, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the arch ...

until his death in October 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathisen, Ivar 1920 births 2008 deaths Norwegian male canoeists Canoeists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists for Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway Norwegian resistance members Sportspeople from Bærum Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics 20th-century Norwegian sportsmen