Torger Tokle (March 7, 1919 – March 3, 1945) was a Norwegian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ski jumper and military officer. During his six-year jumping career he won 42 of 48 tournaments and set 24 hill records. He died in action during the battle of Riva Ridge in Italy in 1945. In 1959 he was induced into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Biography

Tokle was born in Løkken Verk, a village in Meldal,

Sør-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...

county, Norway. His father was a Norwegian mining official, who raised his 20 children in the sport, and skied himself until he was well past 70. Torger started skiing aged three, and at six was already competitively jumped from forty-meter hills. On January 29, 1939 he moved to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York. In 1940, he won every tournament he entered, except for the national title, which was taken by

Alf Engen Alf Marinius Engen (May 15, 1909–July 20, 1997) was a Norwegian-American skier. He set several ski jumping world records during the 1930s and helped establish numerous ski areas in the Western United States. Engen is best known for his ski ...

. Tokle never lost to Engen after that, and won the

national title A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

next year. In October 1942 he enlisted in the US army, serving first in the infantry and then in the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

. He died in the Battle of Riva Ridge in Italy. After his death, Torger's brothers Kyrre and Arthur E. Tokle moved to the U.S., becoming established ski jumpers and coaches.''Sport: Old Daredevil''
''Time''. February 3, 1961

References

1919 births 1945 deaths American male ski jumpers Norwegian emigrants to the United States United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army officers {{US-skijumping-bio-stub