Odd-Willy Martinsen (20 December 1942 – 27 October 2025) was a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed during the 1960s and 1970s. He won three medals at the Winter Olympics, a gold in the 4 × 10 km relay (1968) and silvers in the 30 km (1968) and the 4 × 10 km relay (1976). Martinsen won five medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, a gold in the 4 × 10 km relay (1966), a silver in the 15 km (1970), and bronzes in the 15 km (1966), 30 km (1970), and 4 × 10 km relay (1974). At the 1969 Holmenkollen ski festival, he won the 15 km race. For his cross-country skiing successes in Norway and abroad, Martinsen received the Holmenkollen medal in 1969. Thirty-two years later, his daughter, Bente Skari, received the Holmenkollen medal, making them the only father-daughter combination to ever win the prestigious honor.[1]
 Martinsen in 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 20 December 1942 Drammen, German-occupied Norway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 October 2025 (aged 82) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Hanne Martinsen (1966–2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Cross-country skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Nittedal IL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Domestically Martinsen won Norwegian titles in the 15 km (1966, 1970), 30 km (1969, 1971) and 4 × 10 km relay (1970, 1972–1975, 1978). After retiring from competitions he became a skiing official and headed the FIS cross-country committee in 1986–2002. At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, he served as chief of the cross-country skiing competitions. He also founded the ski firm Finor AS, which, as of 2020, is run by his son, Harald.[1]
Martinsen died on 27 October 2025, at the age of 82.[2]
Cross-country skiing results
editAll results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]
Olympic Games
editWorld Championships
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Odd Martinsen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ↑ Odd Martinsen er død: – Ein markant profil både i Noreg og internasjonalt (in Nynorsk)
- ↑ "MARTINSEN Odd". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
External links
edit
- Odd Martinsen at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- Holmenkollen medalists – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)
- Holmenkollen winners since 1892 – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)
- Lillehammer 1994 Book 4 results – cross-country skiing section Archived 2 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine