Jón Halldór Oddsson (born 25 January 1958) is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic former

multi-sport athlete A multi-sport athlete is an athlete who competes or trains two or more different sports. Most of these athletes played two or more sports from a young age – especially in high school – before deciding to usually concentrate on just one sport p ...

. He was a member of both the Icelandic men's national football team and the Icelandic

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

national team.

Athletics

Jón competed in track and field from the age of 18 until the age of 39, winning several Icelandic championships in

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

and relay racing. He was first noticed on the national stage when he competed in the ''Meistaramót Íslands'' in 1978 where he medaled in

and

triple Jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

Football

Jón played for several seasons in the Icelandic top-tier football league, then named 1. deild karla. In 1979, while playing for KR, he was the fifth highest goal scorer ins the 1. deild with 8 goals.

National football team

In May 1979, Jón was named to the Icelandic men's national football team. On May 22, he was an unused substitute in Iceland's

UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying The qualifying round for UEFA Euro 1980 consisted of 31 teams divided into seven groups; three of five teams and four of four teams. The qualifying round (drawn in Rome on 30 November 1977) was played at various times between May 1978 and Februar ...

game against

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. On May 26, he played his first and only game when he came on 59th minute in Iceland's 1–3 loss against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Basketball

Jón played three seasons in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla, winning the Icelandic championship and Icelandic Basketball Cup in 1980 as a member of Valur. He played for several seasons in the lower leagues. On March 6, 2009, he played his last game at the age of 50, in the second-tier 1. deild karla.

Personal life

Jón is married to Martha Ernstdóttir who competed in women's marathon at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

References

External links

*
Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) profile
at kki.is
Profile
at kki.is {{DEFAULTSORT:Oddsson, Jon 1958 births Living people Men's association football forwards

Jon Oddsson Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given". The name is spelled Jón in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands. In the Nordic countries, it is derived from Johannes. Notable people * Jon Aaraas (born 1986 ...

Shooting guards 20th-century Icelandic sportsmen