Axel Paulsen, amateur world champion in speed skating
Axel Paulsen was born in Aker, a town near Oslo Norway, on July 18, 1855. His parents were Johan Peter Paulsen, a trader of coffee, and Haagine Olsen. Axel Paulsen grew up in Oslo, then called Christiania, where his father had his business. Johan Paulsen was an fanatic ice skater and let all his children skate during the weekends on a lake in the Norwegian capital. Axel quickly got interested in this sport and practiced even on week days, before school. Eventually he became the best Norwegian skater in speed skating.
Two titles
Paulsen won the 5000m race in a national competition in 1880. His major international sporting debut took place at the Grand International Skating Tournament, the first worldwide competition in ice skating, held in Vienna in 1882. He won the speed skating championship and finished third in the figure skating competition and he won an award for his special figure, consisting of a jump of a revolution and a half in the air, which became known as the "leap of Axel Paulsen 'or simply, " the axel".
Paulsen won the 5000m race in a national competition in 1880. His major international sporting debut took place at the Grand International Skating Tournament, the first worldwide competition in ice skating, held in Vienna in 1882. He won the speed skating championship and finished third in the figure skating competition and he won an award for his special figure, consisting of a jump of a revolution and a half in the air, which became known as the "leap of Axel Paulsen 'or simply, " the axel".
World amateur champìon
On February 8, 1983 he participated in a speed skating competition at Washington Park, Brooklyn, United States, where he defeated the seventeen fastest skaters of Norway, England, the United States and Canadá. In the same year he suffered a defeat in Halifax, Canada, on a track with tight curves that he could not take with much speed. He returned to America in 1984 and won every race thanks to a design change of his skates making them suitable for sharp curves, so he received the title of "amateur world champion."
The speed skating records that he established during his races and exhibitions in the United States and Canada (10 miles in 36 minutes and 7 seconds and 25 miles in 1 hour 33 minutes) inspired amateurs and professionals.
On February 8, 1983 he participated in a speed skating competition at Washington Park, Brooklyn, United States, where he defeated the seventeen fastest skaters of Norway, England, the United States and Canadá. In the same year he suffered a defeat in Halifax, Canada, on a track with tight curves that he could not take with much speed. He returned to America in 1984 and won every race thanks to a design change of his skates making them suitable for sharp curves, so he received the title of "amateur world champion."
The speed skating records that he established during his races and exhibitions in the United States and Canada (10 miles in 36 minutes and 7 seconds and 25 miles in 1 hour 33 minutes) inspired amateurs and professionals.