Geir Karlstad

Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach.

Geir Karlstad
Geir Karlstad
Personal information
NationalityNorwegian
Born (1963-07-07) 7 July 1963
Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
CountryNorway
SportSpeed skating
ClubSK Ceres (1972/731981/82)
Ask SK (1982/831986/87)
Lillestrøm SK (1987/881991/92)
Turned pro1981
Retired1992
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 39.41 (1992)
1000 m: 1:22.5 (1981)
1500 m: 1:55.24 (1992)
3000 m: 3:59.78 (1987)
5000 m: 6:43.59 (1987)
10 000 m: 13:48.29 (1992)

Biography

Although best at the longest distances (the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m), Geir Karlstad became Junior World Allround Champion in 1982 and, as a senior, won bronze in both the World and European Allround Championships in 1989. Among the dominating speed skaters in the 1980s, Karlstad competed at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, winning no medals. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he won the gold medal on the 5,000 m and the bronze on the 10,000 m while skating for Lillestrøm SK. He also represented Aktiv SK, but in his youth he represented SK Ceres.

A severe back injury forced him to end his career before the 1994 Winter Olympics of Lillehammer held in his homeland. He had originally intended to end his career at those Winter Olympics. From 1998 to 2002, he was the national team coach of the Norwegian speed skating team. Karlstad received the Oscar Mathisen Award in 1986.

Medals

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

Championships Gold medalSilver medalBronze medal
Winter Olympics1992 (5,000 m)1992 (10,000 m)
World Allround1989
European Allround1989
Norwegian Allround1989
1990
1985
1986
1988
1991
1992
Norwegian Single Distance1987 (5,000 m)
1987 (10,000 m)
1988 (5,000 m)
1992 (5,000 m)
1987 (1,500 m)
1990 (1,500 m)
1990 (5,000 m)

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Karlstad set five world records:

DisciplineTimeDateLocation
10,000 m14.12,1416 February 1986Inzell
10,000 m14.03,9215 February 1987Heerenveen
5,000 m6.45,4422 November 1987Heerenveen
5,000 m6.43,594 December 1987Calgary
10,000 m13.48,516 December 1987Calgary

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[1]

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Karlstad skated his personal records.

EventResultDateVenueWR
500 m39.4117 January 1992Heerenveen36.45
1,000 m1:22.525 January 1981Notodden1:13.60
1,500 m1:55.2422 March 1992Calgary1:52.06
3,000 m3:59.7819 March 1987Heerenveen4:03.22
5,000 m6:43.594 December 1987Calgary6:45.44
10,000 m13:48.2919 January 1992Heerenveen13:43.54
Big combination160.18919 January 1992Heerenveen157.396

Karlstad's personal record on the 3,000 m was not a world record because Leo Visser skated 3:59.27 at the same tournament.

Karlstad has an Adelskalender score of 159.596 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was seventh place.

References

  1. "Geir Karlstad". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
Awards
Preceded by
Hein Vergeer
Oscar Mathisen Award
1986
Succeeded by
Nikolay Gulyayev
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