Johann Olav Koss

Johann Olav Koss, CM OLY (born 29 October 1968) is a former speed skater from Norway. He won four Olympic gold medals, including three at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his home country.

Johann Olav Koss
Personal information
Born (1968-10-29) 29 October 1968
Drammen, Norway
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Sport
CountryNorway
SportSpeed skating
Turned pro1986
Retired1994
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 37.98 (1994)
1000 m: 1:14.9 (1993)
1500 m: 1:51.29 (1994)
3000 m: 3:57.52 (1990)
5000 m: 6:34.96 (1994)
10 000 m: 13:30.55 (1994)
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Representing  Norway
Winter Olympics
1992 Albertville 1,500 m
1994 Lillehammer 1,500 m
1994 Lillehammer 5,000 m
1994 Lillehammer 10,000 m
1992 Albertville 10,000 m

Biography

Johann Olav Koss was born in Drammen, Buskerud County, Norway. Johann Olav Koss became the Norwegian Junior Champion in 1987, but he could not compete with the world top skaters in the 1986 and 1987 World Junior Championships. In 1988, he debuted with the seniors at the World Championships in Alma-Ata, but failed to qualify for the final distance. The following year, he finished eighth in the same tournament (after a fifteenth place in the European Allround Championships), placing second on the 1,500 m. His breakthrough came in 1990, winning the World Allround Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. The following four years, he would win two more world titles (1991 and 1994), while finishing second in 1993 and third in 1992. He won the European Allround Championships in 1991 and finished second in the next three editions. Koss had a total of twenty-three World Cup wins, while winning four overall World Cup titles (the 1,500 m in 1990 and 1991, and the combined 5,000/10,000 m in 1991 and 1994).

Koss made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Winter Olympics, finishing seventh on the 5,000 m, five days after undergoing surgery because of an inflamed pancreas. He would recover to win gold on the 1,500 m (by only 0.04 seconds over his countryman Ådne Søndrål) and silver on the 10,000 m (behind Dutch skater Bart Veldkamp).

In 1994, the final year of his speed skating career, Koss also gained fame outside the speed skating world by winning three gold medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his native Norway, winning all races in new world records, two of which would remain unbeaten until the clap skate era. For his performance, he was named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year in 1994, together with Bonnie Blair. In addition, he received the Oscar Mathisen Award three times: in 1990, 1991, and 1994.

After his speed skating career, Koss trained as a physician at the University of Queensland in Australia.[1] He became a UNICEF ambassador and a member of the International Olympic Committee (until 2002). He married Canadian businessperson and politician Belinda Stronach on 31 December 1999, but they divorced in 2003.

in 2000, Koss founded the Canadian-based International Humanitarian Organisation, Right To Play, which uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. The organization operates in more than 20 countries reaching over one million children each week and is supported by more than 620 staff worldwide and over 14,900 volunteer Coaches.[2] In August 2015, Koss transitioned in to the role of Founder at Right To Play where he still stays very active in a variety of fundraising initiatives, and where he maintains his seat on the International Board of Directors.[2]

He married his second wife, Jennifer Lee, in New York on 23 May 2009. Lee's friend Chelsea Clinton was one of the bridesmaids.[3] Lee is a Harvard College, University of Oxford, and Harvard Business School graduate, and a former cellist who studied at The Juilliard School. She is the granddaughter of Kim Chung Yul,[4] the former Prime Minister of South Korea and Chief of the Korean Armed Forces during the Korean War. She is the Co-Founder of a retail business called BRIKA which sells products from under-the-radar artisans and makers.[5] She is a former management consultant and most recently a private equity investment professional at Ontario Teachers' Private Capital in Toronto. They have four children together, Aksel, Annabelle, Andreas and Aleksander.

In November 2009, after American Peter Mueller was stripped of his coaching role with Norway for an inappropriate comment to a female team member, Koss was appointed head coach, despite no previous coaching experience. Association sporting director Oystein Haugen told Reuters that Koss has been a revelation despite no previous coaching experience.[6]

Koss completed his Executive MBA at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto in Canada. He has Honorary Doctorates from several universities - Brock University, University of Calgary, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, and the University of Agder in Norway.[2] On 1 July 2015, Koss was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada.[7]

At the 2018 Olympic Games Koss was inducted into the Olympians for Life project for using sport to make a better world.[8]

Medals

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

Championships Gold medalSilver medalBronze medal
Winter Olympics1992 (1,500 m)
1994 (1,500 m)
1994 (5,000 m)
1994 (10,000 m)		1992 (10,000 m)–
World Allround1990
1991
1994		19931992
World Cup1990 (1,500 m)
1991 (1,500 m)
1991 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
1994 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)		1992 (1,500 m)
1992 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
1993 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)		1990 (5,000 m / 10,000 m)
European Allround19911992
1993
1994		–
Norwegian Allround1991
1992
1993
1994		1989
1990		–
Norwegian Single Distance1989 (1,500 m)
1989 (5,000 m)
1990 (1,500 m)
1990 (5,000 m)
1990 (10,000 m)
1991 (1,500 m)
1991 (5,000 m)
1991 (10,000 m)
1993 (1,000 m)
1993 (5,000 m)
1994 (1,500 m)		1989 (1,000 m)
1990 (1,000 m)
1992 (1,000 m)
1992 (5,000 m)		1988 (10,000 m)
1991 (1,000 m)
1992 (1,500 m)
1994 (5,000 m)
Norwegian Marathon–1988–

Records

World records

Koss skated ten world records:

EventTimeDateVenue
3000 m3.57,5213 March 1990Heerenveen
5000 m6.41,739 February 1991Heerenveen
10,000 m13.43,5410 February 1991Heerenveen
Big combination157.39610 February 1991Heerenveen
5000 m6.38,7722 January 1993Heerenveen
5000 m6.36,5713 March 1993Heerenveen
5000 m6.35,534 December 1993Hamar
5000 m6.34,9613 February 1994Hamar
1500 m1.51,2916 February 1994Hamar
10,000 m13.30,5520 February 1994Hamar

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[9]

Personal records

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

EventResultDateVenueWR
500 m37.987 January 1994Hamar35.92
1,000 m1:14.9 10 January 1993Hamar1:12.58
1,500 m1:51.2916 February 1994Hamar1:51.60
3,000 m3:57.5213 March 1990Heerenveen3:59.27
5,000 m6:34.9613 February 1994Hamar6:35.53
10,000 m13:30.5520 February 1994Hamar13:43.54
Big combination157.2579 January 1994Hamar156.882

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[10]

Koss was number one on the Adelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, for a total of 1,998 days, divided over three periods between 1992 and 1997. He has an Adelskalender score of 155.099 points.

See also

References
  1. "Olympians at UQ" (PDF). Uq.edu.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  2. "People". Righttoplay.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2009-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Kim Chung Yul, 75, South Korean Premier". Nytimes.com. 9 September 1992. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. "BRIKA - A Well-Crafted Life". Brika.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. "Olympics 2018". Nbcolympics.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. "The Governor General of Canada". Gg.ca. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  8. "WOA honours Olympians for Life inductees". olympians.org. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  9. "Johann Olav Koss". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  10. "Johann Olav Koss". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

Other sources
  • 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.
  • 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.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Leo Visser		 Oscar Mathisen Award
1990–1991		 Succeeded by
Bonnie Blair
Preceded by
Falko Zandstra		 Oscar Mathisen Award
1994		 Succeeded by
Gunda Niemann
Preceded by
Miguel Indurain		 United Press International
Athlete of the Year
1994		 Succeeded by
Jonathan Edwards
Preceded by
Atle Skårdal		 Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year
1991		 Succeeded by
Vegard Ulvang
Preceded by
Norway national football team		 Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year
1994		 Succeeded by
Bjørn Dæhlie
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