Tufte sets course record at Nordic Championships

by Melissa Bray

Racing between Nordic nations over the weekend ended with Norway leading the overall points and Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway taking three gold medals.

Held on Lake Aarungen (south of Oslo, Norway), the host nation put on a weekend of racing with temperatures up to 30° Celsius and ideal conditions that helped Tufte to a new course record in the men’s single. Tufte led Sweden’s top sculler, and regular training partner, Lassi Karonen to finish first in the single in a time of 6:48 for the 2000m course.

The championship is held between Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands and secretary Per Boensnes says the event is known for its social opportunity.

“Rowers from all the Nordic countries can talk to each other in their own language, and here the whole Nordic rowing family met and become friends,” said Boensnes.  

Boensnes noted that despite rowing not being a spectator sport, Norway’s top rowing course has not seen so many spectators since Aarungen held the World Rowing Junior Championships in 1993.

This was the last regatta for Norwegian elite rower Nils-Torolv Simonsen who announced his retirement from international racing. Simonsen raced at two Olympic Games with his effort at Athens in the men’s double ending in a seven-lane final following a dead heat against the United States in the semifinal. Simonsen also owns the World Record for 100,000m on the indoor rowing machine. The Norwegian picked up a Nordic Champion title in the men’s four rowing with Tufte, Kristian Notto Simensen and Nils Jacob Hoff.

This regatta is used as selection by Nordic countries for their junior and under 23 national teams. For the senior rowers it is used as training and a build-up to the Rowing World Cup. Many of these rowers will meet again at the second Rowing World Cup in Amsterdam starting this Friday, 22 June.

The World Rowing team values feedback.