Discover which Norwegian athletes won Gold medals at this year's Summer Olympics in Paris.
There was a lot of hype in Norway before the Olympics this year. The country was sending its biggest ever team to Paris, with expectations of medals in many different disciplines.
However, with just a few days to go in Paris, Norway's medal haul was desperately disappointing. The only bright spot had been the surprise decathlon Gold from Markus Rooth, Norway's first Olympic decathlon gold in more than 100 years.
Among the disappointments was Jakob Ingebrigtsen, one of Norway's famed Ingebrigtsen brothers and hot favourite for a medal in the 1,500-metre final.
He admitted on TV that he started the race too aggressively, which led to his inability to maintain the pace, and finishing fourth. However, Ingebrigtsen would have another chance at a medal in the 5,000 metres a few days later.
Thankfully for Norwegian sports fans, the medals began to pile up on the penultimate day of events. Norway ended up in 18th position in the official medal table, with four Gold, one Silver, and three Bronze.
So, let's now have a look at who took Gold medals back to Norway with them.
Markus Rooth: Decathlon
Oslo-born Markus Rooth won a surprise gold medal in the men’s decathlon at the Olympics, after defending champion Damian Warner failed to clear a height in the pole vault, ending his title defense.
Rooth, who was in seventh place after day one, accumulated 8,796 points, marking Norway’s first Olympic decathlon gold since 1920. He finished ahead of Germany’s Leo Neugebauer (8,748 points) and Grenada’s Lindon Victor (8,711 points).
Rooth secured his victory with a strong javelin throw and by beating Neugebauer in the 1500-metre race.
His teammate, Sander Skotheim, who was in third place before missing all his pole vault attempts, still completed the final two events and helped pace Rooth in the 1500-metre race, finishing 18th overall.
Rooth expressed surprise at his victory, calling it the biggest win of his career. “I woke up this morning feeling great after an amazing first day. I just kept adding on to that,” he said.
Solfrid Koanda: Weightlifting
Norway's Solfrid Koanda delivered a dominant performance to win the 81kg weightlifting title at the Paris Olympics, securing Norway's second-ever Olympic gold in the sport.
The 25-year-old lifted a combined total of 275kg, following in the footsteps of Leif Goran Jenssen, who won Norway's first weightlifting gold in 1972.
Although Koanda narrowly missed leading in the snatch, lifting just one kilogram less than Ecuador's Neisi Dajomes, she excelled in the clean and jerk with a lift of 148kg, which she then surpassed with a 154kg lift to secure the gold.
“Since I was little I've always loved to work hard. I feel like I've always had a purpose, and I feel that working hard, lifting heavy weights is my purpose. And I got to shine on that stage today and receive a gold medal around my neck,” she said.
Women's Handball Team
Norway's women's handball team won their third Olympic gold medal by defeating reigning champion France 29-21 in the final at the Paris Games, their first Olympic gold since 2012.
The Norwegian team celebrated joyfully. Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde led the celebrations, running around the arena with the Norwegian flag. Henny Reistad was the top scorer for Norway with eight goals, while Stine Bredal Oftedal scored five.
Norway, the two-time defending European champion and bronze medalist at the Tokyo Games, has now won medals in every Olympics since 2008.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen: 5,000 Metres
Although he didn't follow up his 1,500-metre Gold in Tokyo with Gold in Paris, Jakob Ingebrigtsen still leaves Paris with gold around his neck.
Fair play to Jakob for overcoming the huge disappointment earlier in the week to secure first place in the 5,000-metre final. A strong final lap won the Gold medal, exactly as it did in the last two world championships.
“For me the 5,000m is over triple my usual distance, so it was a very tough race,” said Ingebrigtsen.
He also spoke of overcoming the disappointment: “When you hit a wall and don’t perform the way you want to, it’s very difficult. But for me, I’m participating in two events in Paris. I got another shot, I just had to make the most of it.”
Other Norwegian Medallists
Sprinting star Karsten Warholm failed to follow up his Gold medal in Tokyo, but still took Silver in the 400-metre hurdles final.
Norway's Bronze medal winners were wrestler Grace Jacob Bullen, sailor Line Flem Høst, and the beach volleyball team of Anders Mol and Christian Sorum.
Did you watch any of Paris 2024? Which were your favourite performances from the Norwegian team? Let us know down in the comments.
We were at Oslo airport last evening and saw some of the Olympians coming home. Heading to short term parking, wearing their medals and carrying flowers like “hey, no big deal.” It was terrific!