Olaf Söyland ( Norwegian. Olaf Søyland ; July 28, 1952 , Flekkefjord ) - Norwegian kayaker , played for the Norwegian team in the second half of the 1970s. Participant in the Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, two-time world champion, winner of many regattas of national and international importance. Also known as kayaking and canoeing coach.
| Olaf Soyland | |
|---|---|
| personal information | |
| Floor | |
| A country |  Norway |
| Specialization | kayak , 10,000 m |
| Club | Flekkefjord |
| Date of Birth | July 28, 1952 (67 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Flekkefjord , Norway |
| Growth | 187 cm |
| Weight | 80 kg |
Biography
Olaf Soyland was born on July 28, 1952 in the municipality of Flekkefjord, West Agder County . He began to actively engage in rowing from early childhood, was trained at the local canoe club Flekkefjord.
He achieved his first serious success at the adult international level in 1975, when he joined the main squad of the Norwegian national team and attended the World Championships in Yugoslav Belgrade, from where he brought a gold dignity, having won the four-place kayak competition at a distance of 10,000 meters. Thanks to a series of successful performances, he won the right to defend the country's honor at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal - in the kilometer discipline, four-kayaks reached the final stage, but finished only sixth in the decisive race.
After the Olympics, Soyland remained in the main composition of the Norwegian rowing team and continued to take part in major international regattas. So, in 1978, he performed at the World Championships in Belgrade and won the silver medal in doubles at a thousand meters. A year later, at the world championship in Duisburg, Germany, together with team-mate Einar Rasmussen, won gold in doubles at a kilometer distance, thus becoming a two-time world champion. It was considered as the main candidate for participation in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow , however, for political reasons, Norway boycotted these competitions, forbidding its athletes to participate in them. Soon, Olaf Söyland decided to end the career of a professional athlete, giving way to young Norwegian rowers in the national team.
Subsequently, he successfully worked as a kayaking and canoeing coach, in particular, one of his students, Erik Veros Larsen , won the world championships five times and twice became the Olympic champion. After leaving the sport, he took up the family business in his hometown of Flekkefjord. Married, has two children.
Links
- Olaf Soyland - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Olaf Soyland - medals at major international competitions
- Lists of kayaking and canoeing champions and prize winners (1936-2007 )