Biography
Together with Amund Sjøbrend, Sten Stensen, and Kay Stenshjemmet, Jan Egil Storholt was one of the legendary four S-es (which sounds like "four aces" in Norwegian), four Norwegian top skaters in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Storholt was born in Trondheim, but grew up in the village of Løkken nearby. He became a member of sports club Falken ("Falcon") in Trondheim. Falken was the club 1948 Olympic 1,500 m Champion Sverre Farstad and three-time 1952 Olympic Champion (on the 1,500 m, 5000 m, and 10000 m) Hjalmar Andersen had skated for.
Storholt was the Norwegian Junior Champion in 1969, but when he was almost killed in a mining accident in 1970, he was told he would probably not be able to compete at the highest levels again, and it seemed that his promising career had already come to an end. However, Storholt's determination got him back to the Norwegian top by 1972. After some of the best Norwegian speed skaters had turned professional in 1973 (and therefore also could no longer participate in the Olympic Games), Storholt suddenly was one of the best Norwegian amateurs.
It still took until 1976 for his first major international successes: After having won bronze at the European Allround Championships that year, Storholt went on to win Olympic gold on the 1,500 m in Innsbruck. This made him the third Olympic 1,500 m Champion for sports club Falken. In 1977 he became European Allround Champion and was narrowly defeated by Eric Heiden in the World Allround Championships. He won silver behind Heiden in three consecutive World Championships, and became European Allround Champion for the second time in 1979. This year he won his only Norwegian allround title as a senior.
Storholt ended his speed skating career in 1981, after having won bronze in the World Championships.
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