Name Hakon Brusveen | Role Olympic athlete | |
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Olympic medals Cross-country skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics - Men\'s 4 x 10 km relay Similar People Hallgeir Brenden, Harald Gronningen, Sixten Jernberg, Veikko Hakulinen, Dag Lindebjerg | ||
Håkon Brusveen (born 15 July 1927) is a retired Norwegian cross-country skier. He competed in the individual 15 km and 4×10 km relay events at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won two medals in 1960: a gold in the 15 km and a silver in the relay; in 1956 he placed fifth and fourth, respectively. In 1958 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal (shared with Inger Bjørnbakken).
Brusveen had a chronic asthmatic bronchitis and took up skiing to improve his condition. In 1952 he placed fifth in the Olympic trials and was selected as a reserve for the Olympic skiing team. He won the national 30 km title in 1953, 1957 and 1958, and around that time opened a sport shop in Lillehammer. Brusveen was originally selected as a substitute member of the 1960 Norwegian Olympic team, but performed well shortly before the Olympics, and was included to the main team upon personal recommendation from King Olav V of Norway. At the Olympics he won the 15 km race, beating Sixten Jernberg by 3 seconds at the finish, but lost by 0.8 seconds to Veikko Hakulinen in the last leg of the 4×10 km relay, despite having a 20 seconds lead at the start.
After the 1960 Olympics Brusveen changed to biathlon, but failed to qualify for the 1964 Olympics by a small margin. In the 1960s he became a popular radio commentator of cross-country skiing events for Norsk Rikskringkasting.