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Unni Larsen (born 23 March 1959) is a Norwegian former
racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...
and dogsled racer who competed in two Olympic Games (1984, 1988). Between 1977 and 1992, she won fifteen titles at the Norwegian cycling championships.


Personal life

Larsen has three brothers. She studied carpentry at a vocational school and apprenticed to become a carpenter. She has a daughter, Trine, born in June 1985.


Career

Larsen began skiing as a child, and in 1983, she placed 15th in the national championships in 10km cross-country skiing. She was also the national champion in relay
dogsled racing Sled dog racing (sometimes termed dog sled racing) is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sled dogs tha ...
in 1984. Larsen felt that dogsled racing had better gender equality than cycling, saying that races for men and women were held at the same time at the same courses, which was usually not the case in cycling, and that the environment was less sexist, although she did see increasing respect for women cyclists during her career. When she was 17 in 1976, she bought her first bicycle, which she intended to use for transit to and from school, but her neighbor convinced her to buy an expensive bike for racing. She entered her first race a few days later and won. This qualified her for her first national championships, and despite her lack of experience, she placed 4th. The next year, she beat May Britt Nilsen to win her first national title in the time trial and was sent to the Nordic championships as part of the first Norwegian women's team. Larsen later commented that the women's accommodations at the event were inferior to those of the men. In 1978, she competed at her first UCI Road World Championships in
Nürburg Nürburg () is a town in the German district of Ahrweiler, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is also the name of the local castle, Nürburg Castle, which was built in the High Middle Ages. The castle is made of basalt which usually has ...
, where the Norwegian women's team was forced out of their hotel room after one night to accommodate the men's team. She cut back on her training efforts for several years, feeling that there was too much pressure on her to succeed, but after the 1981 season, Larsen began to intensify her training again. Larsen has fifteen victories in various Norwegian cycling championships and is also a Nordic champion in road racing. She participated in the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, where she placed fourth. She originally planned to retire after the Olympics, but as her season went well, she decided to continue competing. Later in the year, she discovered she was pregnant. She applied for funding to train for the upcoming
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, and though she was uncertain whether she would receive the funding due to her pregnancy, it was granted to her. She continued training during her pregnancy until advised to stop by her doctor. Larsen competed at the 1988 Olympics, where she finished 20th.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Unni 1959 births Living people Cyclists from Oslo Cyclists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Norway Norwegian female cyclists Norwegian dog mushers 20th-century Norwegian sportswomen