Odd Martinsen (born 20 December 1942 in Nittedal) 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 x 10 km relay (1968), and silvers in the 30 km (1968) and the 4 x 10 km relay (1976). Martinsen won five medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, a gold in the 4 x 10 km relay (1966), a silver in the 15 km (1970), and bronzes in the 15 km (1966), 30 km (1970), and 4 x 10 km relay (1974). At the 1969 Holmenkollen ski festival, he won the 15 km competition. 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. Odd Martinsen was a member of Nittedal IL.
At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Martinsen was chief of competition for the cross country skiing competitions.
Read more about Odd Martinsen: National Achievements
Famous quotes containing the word odd:
“Actually being married seemed so crowded with unspoken rules and odd secrets and unfathomable responsibilities that it had no more occurred to her to imagine being married herself than it had to imagine driving a motorcycle or having a job. She had, however, thought about being a bride, which had more to do with being the center of attention and looking inexplicably, temporarily beautiful than it did with sharing a double bed with someone with hairy legs and a drawer full of boxer shorts.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)