Oscar Wilhelm Mathisen (4 October 1888 – 10 April 1954) was a Norwegian speed skater and celebrity, almost rivalling Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen as symbols for a young nation (Norway became independent in 1905). He represented Kristiania Skøiteklub (now Oslo Skøiteklub).

Early life Oscar Mathisen was born in Kristiania (now Oslo) as the youngest of seven children. His parents, Carl Anton Mathisen (born in Østre Toten Municipality in 1852) and Pauline Mathisen (born in Vang Municipality in 1853), had five sons and two daughters: Carl Markus (1875), Petter Jørgen (1877), Johan Ingval (1879), Agnis Pauline (1880), Sigurd Valdemar (1883), Margit Antoni (1885), and Oscar Wilhelm (1888), all born in Kristiania. Mathisens parents made sure all their children knew how to skate. This paid off, as both Mathisen and his brother Sigurd became professional skaters.

Career Mathisen was crowned National Champion in 1907 at the age of 18, and became World Champion the following year (four years after his brother Sigurd Mathisen), despite falling on the 500 m. During his career, he set 14 world records, with his 1,500 m record from 1914 standing unrivalled for 23 years. The day before he set that 1,500 m record, he had broken Jaap Eden's world record on the 5,000 m and thereby had become the world record holder on all distances. He became World Allround Champion five times, a record that stood until 2013 when it was broken by Sven Kramer, and European Allround Champion three times.

After World War I, he became a professional skater and he was Professional World Champion in 1920. He continued his skating career until 1929. In that last year of his career, then 40 years old, he went to Davos, where people were preparing for the European Championships, and proved that he could still skate fast by beating the world record times on both the 500 m and the 1,000 m, although his times were not recognised as world records because he was a professional skater.

Mathisen was known for showing respect towards competitors who defeated him, including Nikolay Strunnikov, and later expressed appreciation for leading skaters such as Oleg Goncharenko.

Death and legacy On April 10th, 1954, Mathisen murdered his wife before committing suicide.

In 1959, a statue of Mathisen was erected outside of Frogner stadion in Oslo, where he celebrated many of his triumphs. Every year since 1959, the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding speed skating performance of the season.

Medals An overview of medals won by Mathisen at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal World Allround 1908 1909 1912 1913 1914 1910 – European Allround 1909 1912 1914 1908 1913 1910 Norwegian Allround 1907 1909 1910 1912 1913 1915 1908 – Sources: SpeedSkatingStats.com & Skoyteforbundet.no

Records

World records Over the course of his career, Mathisen skated 14 world records: DistanceTimeDateLocation1,500 m2:20.88 February 1908Davos – Eisstadion1,000 m1:31.830 January 1909Davos – Eisstadion1,500 m2:20.63 January 1910Davos – Eisstadion500 m44.217 February 1912Kristiania – Gamle Frogner stadion10,000 m17:46.318 February 1912Kristiania – Gamle Frogner stadion10,000 m17:36.425 January 1913Trondheim – Øen Stadion10,000 m17:22.61 February 1913Kristiania – Gamle Frogner stadion500 m44.016 March 1913Hamar – Mjøsa500 m43.710 January 1914Kristiania – Frogner stadion1,500 m2:19.411 January 1914Kristiania – Frogner stadion500 m43.417 January 1914Davos – Eisstadion5,000 m8:36.617 January 1914Davos – Eisstadion1,500 m2:17.418 January 1914Davos – Eisstadion5,000 m8:36.323 January 1916Kristiania – Frogner stadion Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

Personal records To put these personal records in perspective, the Notes column lists the official world records on the dates that Mathisen skated his personal records.

Source: EvertStenlund.se

Note that Mathisen's personal records on the 500 m and the 1,000 m were not recognised as world records by the International Skating Union (ISU) because Mathisen was a professional skater when he set those.

Apart from on the 3,000 m, every one of these personal records was faster than the official world record on the given distance at the time, while in most cases, Mathisen himself already was the world record holder. As for the 3,000 m, this was not an official world record event, as governed by the ISU, until 1932. Both the first official world record on this distance (by Clas Thunberg in 1932) and the second one (by Michael Staksrud in 1933) were actually slower than Mathisen's personal record. When Ivar Ballangrud set the third official world record on the 3,000 m in 1935, the 3,000 m world record finally was faster than Mathisen's personal record.

Mathisen has an Adelskalender score of 192.560 points. He held first place on the Adelskalender for 7,649 days between 1909 and 1930, more than twice as long as anyone else. The number two on the list of people who led the Adelskalender for the highest number of days is Ivar Ballangrud (who actually replaced Mathisen at the top of the Adelskalender) with 3,675 days.

References

Bibliography

Eng, Trond. All Time International Championships, Complete Results: 1889 – 2002. Askim, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2002. Eng, Trond; Gjerde, Arild and Teigen, Magne. Norsk Skøytestatistikk Gjennom Tidene, Menn/Kvinner, 1999 (6. utgave). Askim/Skedsmokorset/Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 1999. Eng, Trond; Gjerde, Arild; Teigen, Magne and Teigen, Thorleiv. Norsk Skøytestatistikk Gjennom Tidene, Menn/Kvinner, 2004 (7. utgave). Askim/Skedsmokorset/Veggli/Hokksund, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2004. Eng, Trond and Teigen, Magne. Komplette Resultater fra offisielle Norske Mesterskap på skøyter, 1894 – 2005. Askim/Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 2005. Mathisen, Oscar. Mitt Livs Løp (in Norwegian). Oslo, Norway: Dybwad, 1946. (Autobiography) Teigen, Magne. Komplette Resultater Norske Mesterskap På Skøyter, 1887 – 1989: Menn/Kvinner, Senior/Junior. Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 1989. Teigen, Magne. Komplette Resultater Internasjonale Mesterskap 1889 – 1989: Menn/Kvinner, Senior/Junior, allround/sprint. Veggli, Norway: WSSSA-Skøytenytt, 1989.

External links

Oscar Mathisen at SpeedSkatingStats.com The skating days of Oscar Mathisen in diary form at ortygia.no Oscar Mathisen. Deutsche Eisschnelllauf Gemeinschaft e.V. (German Skating Association). Historical World Records. International Skating Union. National Championships results. Norges Skøyteforbund (Norwegian Skating Association).