Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach.
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 medal Silver medal Bronze medal Winter Olympics 1992 (5,000 m) – 1992 (10,000 m) World Allround – – 1989 European Allround – – 1989 Norwegian Allround 19891990 19851986198819911992 – Norwegian Single Distance 1987 (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:
DisciplineTimeDateLocation10,000 m14.12,1416 February 1986 Inzell10,000 m14.03,9215 February 1987 Heerenveen5,000 m6.45,4422 November 1987 Heerenveen5,000 m6.43,594 December 1987 Calgary10,000 m13.48,516 December 1987 Calgary
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com
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.
EventResultDateVenueWR500 m39.4117 January 1992Heerenveen36.45 1,000 m1:22.5 25 January 1981Notodden1:13.601,500 m1:55.2422 March 1992Calgary1:52.063,000 m3:59.7819 March 1987Heerenveen4:03.225,000 m6:43.594 December 1987Calgary6:45.4410,000 m13:48.2919 January 1992Heerenveen13:43.54Big 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
External links
Personal records from The Skatebase