Davos was the place for world records
adapted from the account by Lars Finsen at
http://www.ortygia.no/Skoyter/Oscar/eod140117.shtml
and
http://www.ortygia.no/Skoyter/Oscar/eod140118.shtml
A letter from of Ms. or Mr. Borchgrevinck, was published in Norsk Idrætsblad early February 1913, just after Oscar Mathisen realized a fantastic new 10k record. It said:
As the weekends pass this winter, the idea strengthens in our minds that we now this year in Oscar Mathisen have something “noch nie dagewesenes”.
I emphasise “now this year”—intentionally, because who knows if Mathisen next year will be in this kind of form—or if he will compete any more at all?
It is my purpose with these lines to emphasise that owning such an eminent talent in our midst makes it a duty for our nation to act and make this man able to leave marks that will stand through the ages—and remain even when n’Oscar has shelved his skates for good. In short: even if one were to renounce the participation of Mathisen in some cup team or other it is imperative that someone with the means to do so take action and send him to Davos as soon as possible in order that he then as the right man in the right place can push the records somewhat emphatically. According to common human calculations those times then ought to be able to stand unmolested on behalf of the Norwegian nation for quite a few years.
The same idea had actually occurred to the skating club in Davos (or maybe even the very idea of Borchgrevinck had found its way there). So Oscar received an invitation from the skating club or Davos for himself and one other person with all expenses fully covered. For this he chose Bjarne Frang, who had shown a fine sprinting form last weekend and might give him some pace in the shorter distances. And thus Oscar and Bjarne Frang soon were on their way south under far more comfortable circumstances than the ones of Oscar and his teammates in 1908. Oscar in his book literally says that the club had set a direct 2nd class wagon at their disposal. The trip was both quick and pleasant this time, and when they arrived, the weather was ideal, as beautiful as it could possibly be. It stayed that way until the first day of the races.
The competitors
The little alpine town had dressed up for the occasion, too. Flags of all the participating nations hung fluttering everywhere. Great things were on the horizon, and there was no question of letting anyone of the residents or visitors in the town rest in ignorance of them. Besides Norway and Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany had their colors flying from the street corners. The Germans had a sizeable team up here for the 2nd time this year to prepare for the European Championship in Berlin later the same year. Coen de Koning, the winner in 1912 of the first “Elfstedentocht”, a race of 200km, represented the Netherlands.
http://www.ortygia.no/Skoyter/Oscar/eod140117.shtml
and
http://www.ortygia.no/Skoyter/Oscar/eod140118.shtml
A letter from of Ms. or Mr. Borchgrevinck, was published in Norsk Idrætsblad early February 1913, just after Oscar Mathisen realized a fantastic new 10k record. It said:
As the weekends pass this winter, the idea strengthens in our minds that we now this year in Oscar Mathisen have something “noch nie dagewesenes”.
I emphasise “now this year”—intentionally, because who knows if Mathisen next year will be in this kind of form—or if he will compete any more at all?
It is my purpose with these lines to emphasise that owning such an eminent talent in our midst makes it a duty for our nation to act and make this man able to leave marks that will stand through the ages—and remain even when n’Oscar has shelved his skates for good. In short: even if one were to renounce the participation of Mathisen in some cup team or other it is imperative that someone with the means to do so take action and send him to Davos as soon as possible in order that he then as the right man in the right place can push the records somewhat emphatically. According to common human calculations those times then ought to be able to stand unmolested on behalf of the Norwegian nation for quite a few years.
The same idea had actually occurred to the skating club in Davos (or maybe even the very idea of Borchgrevinck had found its way there). So Oscar received an invitation from the skating club or Davos for himself and one other person with all expenses fully covered. For this he chose Bjarne Frang, who had shown a fine sprinting form last weekend and might give him some pace in the shorter distances. And thus Oscar and Bjarne Frang soon were on their way south under far more comfortable circumstances than the ones of Oscar and his teammates in 1908. Oscar in his book literally says that the club had set a direct 2nd class wagon at their disposal. The trip was both quick and pleasant this time, and when they arrived, the weather was ideal, as beautiful as it could possibly be. It stayed that way until the first day of the races.
The competitors
The little alpine town had dressed up for the occasion, too. Flags of all the participating nations hung fluttering everywhere. Great things were on the horizon, and there was no question of letting anyone of the residents or visitors in the town rest in ignorance of them. Besides Norway and Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany had their colors flying from the street corners. The Germans had a sizeable team up here for the 2nd time this year to prepare for the European Championship in Berlin later the same year. Coen de Koning, the winner in 1912 of the first “Elfstedentocht”, a race of 200km, represented the Netherlands.
Participants, left to right Petzold(?), Koning, Mathisen, Bohrer, Frang, Max Kniel, Dix, two Germans, Prochaska—from Oscar Mathisen, “Mitt livs løp”.
The 500 meter
As the time of the start was approaching, a big crowd had gathered around the rink, a mixture of sanatorium patients and tourists from several different countries who didn’t have pennilessness as their most characteristic feature, and therefore already the first day could replace the club’s expenses for the transport of the two Norwegians. The long-term effects of any records that might be realized would just be a bonus. As the first pair was ready at 11 o’clock, the night as usual on fine Davos days had been cold, 10 degrees below or more. Then the Sun came up, giving the night-cold ice a warm kiss to create a thin, half-melted layer of oily slick ice promising records.
I don’t have the protocols from this meet, but it is known that Oscar skated early.
He sprinted well in his usual fashion, perhaps with a little more caution due to the iron rods in the beginning, middle and end of the curves. His time of 43,4 was a new world record, well applauded by the international audience. Later, Bjarne Frang skated 44,6, improving his pb again and climbing to 4th place in the all-time list, with only Sigurd Mathisen and Johan Vikander between Oscar and himself. The others were close to two or more seconds slower.
Although this 500 m in fact was only kind of a warm-up for Oscar this time this record was to stand unimproved as a world record for 14 years, but he had no way of knowing that. What he really was here for was the next event of the day.
As the time of the start was approaching, a big crowd had gathered around the rink, a mixture of sanatorium patients and tourists from several different countries who didn’t have pennilessness as their most characteristic feature, and therefore already the first day could replace the club’s expenses for the transport of the two Norwegians. The long-term effects of any records that might be realized would just be a bonus. As the first pair was ready at 11 o’clock, the night as usual on fine Davos days had been cold, 10 degrees below or more. Then the Sun came up, giving the night-cold ice a warm kiss to create a thin, half-melted layer of oily slick ice promising records.
I don’t have the protocols from this meet, but it is known that Oscar skated early.
He sprinted well in his usual fashion, perhaps with a little more caution due to the iron rods in the beginning, middle and end of the curves. His time of 43,4 was a new world record, well applauded by the international audience. Later, Bjarne Frang skated 44,6, improving his pb again and climbing to 4th place in the all-time list, with only Sigurd Mathisen and Johan Vikander between Oscar and himself. The others were close to two or more seconds slower.
Although this 500 m in fact was only kind of a warm-up for Oscar this time this record was to stand unimproved as a world record for 14 years, but he had no way of knowing that. What he really was here for was the next event of the day.
The 5000 meter
At 2 o´clock, after a bit of figure skating and some Swiss junior races some way down the B level, all was finally ready to start the 5000 m. All of the Eden’s had been beaten one by one as Østlund and others had found good conditions in high altitude. But the one in the 5000m, 8.37,6, remained year after year. It had acquired a bit of a fairy tale glamour and a reputation for being unbeatable. Some even suspected a timekeeping error. Strunnikov had beaten it by 4 tenths of a second in 1911, but under irregular circumstances, meaning that it could never be approved. Thus Oscar, the owner of all the other world records in the sport, was especially hungry for this one. Never before had anyone possessed all the records in speed skating, and he dearly wanted to be the first. In fact he so much wanted it that this one race had occupied all his attention since the invitation came from the club here. Everything else was secondary, the European, the World Championship, not to mention the national championship that he had abandoned to have this one chance.
Can he beat the record of Jaap Eden?
It was no secret for the audience either that the real event of the day was to be this one. The unbeatable getting beaten, or not. Nothing was certain. But excitement and betting ran high. These people also could appreciate the point that here were two men going out to fight, but not each other. Rather one of them would fight the ghost of the old record holder. Eden was still very much alive and not a ghost. He still was an active cyclist, participating in his last cycling race in 1915, 19 years after he stopped skating. But this idea of being chased not by a living skater of flesh and blood, but by the phantom of the old record had gotten hold of this elegant and well-mannered crowd, and eventually made it lose some of its manners. Today we know the name of this phantom, it’s called Schedule. Unfortunately we don’t know the split times of the 8.37,6 phantom that was chasing Oscar, but it’s not hard to set up a schedule for it. In fact it’s rather straightforward, and therefore it’s not unthinkable that some of the more resourceful spectators on the stands a hundred years ago, who may even have been equipped with watches, could have done it themselves to get some idea of how the record attempt was proceeding. Here is one possibility: 23,2-1.04,4-1.45,6-2.26,8-3.08,0-3.49,2-4.30,4-5.11,6-5.52,8-6.34,0-7.15,2-7.56,4-8.37,6.
At 2 o´clock, after a bit of figure skating and some Swiss junior races some way down the B level, all was finally ready to start the 5000 m. All of the Eden’s had been beaten one by one as Østlund and others had found good conditions in high altitude. But the one in the 5000m, 8.37,6, remained year after year. It had acquired a bit of a fairy tale glamour and a reputation for being unbeatable. Some even suspected a timekeeping error. Strunnikov had beaten it by 4 tenths of a second in 1911, but under irregular circumstances, meaning that it could never be approved. Thus Oscar, the owner of all the other world records in the sport, was especially hungry for this one. Never before had anyone possessed all the records in speed skating, and he dearly wanted to be the first. In fact he so much wanted it that this one race had occupied all his attention since the invitation came from the club here. Everything else was secondary, the European, the World Championship, not to mention the national championship that he had abandoned to have this one chance.
Can he beat the record of Jaap Eden?
It was no secret for the audience either that the real event of the day was to be this one. The unbeatable getting beaten, or not. Nothing was certain. But excitement and betting ran high. These people also could appreciate the point that here were two men going out to fight, but not each other. Rather one of them would fight the ghost of the old record holder. Eden was still very much alive and not a ghost. He still was an active cyclist, participating in his last cycling race in 1915, 19 years after he stopped skating. But this idea of being chased not by a living skater of flesh and blood, but by the phantom of the old record had gotten hold of this elegant and well-mannered crowd, and eventually made it lose some of its manners. Today we know the name of this phantom, it’s called Schedule. Unfortunately we don’t know the split times of the 8.37,6 phantom that was chasing Oscar, but it’s not hard to set up a schedule for it. In fact it’s rather straightforward, and therefore it’s not unthinkable that some of the more resourceful spectators on the stands a hundred years ago, who may even have been equipped with watches, could have done it themselves to get some idea of how the record attempt was proceeding. Here is one possibility: 23,2-1.04,4-1.45,6-2.26,8-3.08,0-3.49,2-4.30,4-5.11,6-5.52,8-6.34,0-7.15,2-7.56,4-8.37,6.
In recent years Oscar had grown used to opening slowly to save some juice for the final fight or to make the race at all interesting when Ippolitov wasn’t around. But this time it was all out from the start, with a one minute flat opening, lap time possibly 38–39; well ahead of the chasing Eden-phantom. His style was light and elegant, the pace was controlled, speeding up for every lap. Next split was 1.41, lap time 41, still a good lead. It’s hard to tell if he was informed, at least he was not allowed to. But much was at stake. 1800 meter split 2.23, lap time 42. Eden crept a little closer. His travel mate Frang was unable to help, because he skated in the same pair, already far behind. But there were journalists present who were eager for good news to send home. Another 42 lap and split time 3.05. The ghost came closer. Was Oscar informed? At least he produced another 41 lap, passing in 3.46. Another lap in a hurried pace and another split time in 4.27, yet again 41. It looked promising. But the air was thin and he only had spent 3 or 4 days up here to accommodate to the climate. 3000 m were done in 5.09, lap time 42. Then another 42 and a 5.51 split. His lead diminished and he felt the breath of the Eden phantom hotter in his neck. But it wasn’t the only thing chasing him. The thousands on the stand who had put money on him were chasing him too. They felt the closing in of the menacing ghost, either by instinct or by mathematical calculation. Next split was 6.32, rounding down. Still a lead, but it was close, and the international audience increased its sound level as its phlegm level decreased. 4200 meter, the end was coming near, and the split—yes, we have to round up to 7.15, and suddenly equal to the old record! Was he going to fail after all? He had to set in a final effort. Even more phlegm drained out of the audience and there was a waving of arms to chase the Norwegian on and a shouting of more or less encouraging cries. Maybe also Oscar had been informed, because he did start a final effort and drove the penultimate lap down to 41, split time 7.56. But his margin was all gone, the Eden-spirit was breathing really hot down his neck now, and he had to pull himself together if he didn’t want the whole trip down here to be all in vain. With the ghost of 8.37,6 close on his heels and the betting-mad audience screeching around the track he let both arms go, skated the last lap in 40,6 and crossed the line just as his pair mate started his last lap. And it went well, it was a close call, but he had made it. 8.36,6. Welt-Rekord. The grand-slam was done. And if the spectators had been beyond themselves in fear of losing their betting money, they now were beyond themselves in joy and poured a storm of applause over “The splendid Norwegian,” “The wonderful fellow,” “I never saw the like!”
The second day
The Davos weather was perfectly beautiful on Sunday as well, and Oscar Mathisen, happy and relaxed after reaching his great goal the day before, thought that he might possibly achieve something today as well. Among the international audience, even more numerous than the day before, betting was rife, and most fancied two new records. But there were those that thought the 1500 and 10000 m ones that were at stake today were stronger than the two that fell the day before.
The air was light and clean, the sunshine lovely, flags hung limp on their poles, and the creamy white ice shimmered under the feet of the skaters who made ready for their 1500 m this morning. In his pair, Oscar Mathisen started in the inner lane, Bjarne Frang in the outer. The starter stood in front of them, between the lanes, his flag held high. When he lowered it, it was the signal to go and do your best. Oscar had been a little unnerved by the comments he had heard, indicating that it was expected of him to set two new records today as well. The fortunes of numerous members of the audience seemed to depend on it. But Oscar was used to achieving on behalf of others, and when he glided out in the unreal realm of sunshine and gleaming ice, content and happy from what he had achieved the day before—the absolute monarchy of speed skating—doing his best was all he had in mind.
The Davos weather was perfectly beautiful on Sunday as well, and Oscar Mathisen, happy and relaxed after reaching his great goal the day before, thought that he might possibly achieve something today as well. Among the international audience, even more numerous than the day before, betting was rife, and most fancied two new records. But there were those that thought the 1500 and 10000 m ones that were at stake today were stronger than the two that fell the day before.
The air was light and clean, the sunshine lovely, flags hung limp on their poles, and the creamy white ice shimmered under the feet of the skaters who made ready for their 1500 m this morning. In his pair, Oscar Mathisen started in the inner lane, Bjarne Frang in the outer. The starter stood in front of them, between the lanes, his flag held high. When he lowered it, it was the signal to go and do your best. Oscar had been a little unnerved by the comments he had heard, indicating that it was expected of him to set two new records today as well. The fortunes of numerous members of the audience seemed to depend on it. But Oscar was used to achieving on behalf of others, and when he glided out in the unreal realm of sunshine and gleaming ice, content and happy from what he had achieved the day before—the absolute monarchy of speed skating—doing his best was all he had in mind.
On the starting lines before 2.17,4. From Bjørn Bråttum’s private collection
The 1500 meter
Then the flag went down, and the skaters started their race. On the oily smooth ice they built up high speeds quickly as the international spectatorship provided auditory encouragement. The sun was high, and there was peace in the world. Frenchmen, Germans, Englishmen and Austrians stood side by side, cheering for the speedy Norwegian. Maybe a Turk, Bulgarian, Greek or two were amongst them, too, or someone from another of the fresh Balkan king- or princedoms. Mathisen and Frang entered the first curve, leaning well over in the high speed, pumping it even higher before they entered the second straight with Oscar in a slight lead, as expected. The split-time? Probably 29.
They started the 2nd lap in the enchanting light, reminiscent of Easter back home. Witnesses have claimed that the race was the most beautiful ever seen in Davos, seemingly effortless, yet so fast. Oscar had done what he came here for; this race was only a bonus. He could relax, letting his power play out and enjoy the wonder-ice, knowing for every stride precisely where to set his skate down, exactly where to roll over, where to push, in a muse-rhythm enrapturing skaters as well as spectators. Out on the back-straight again he went with Frang chasing behind, then the outer curve and another straight, his pair mate still close. The split likely was 1.04—magically the same figures as his birth date.
They started the 3rd lap in the wonderful sunshine irradiating the Davos valley, under the slopes of tall mountains and the classical sanatorium fronts. The high speed was beginning to tell a little, and the next crossing was close, with Oscar entering the curve before his club mate. The rest of the race he had to do by himself. Still he could sit and glide stroke after stroke, enjoying the speed and the whole atmosphere. The peacefully coexisting audience rejoiced in his enchanting rhythm and recognised it as a symptom of how their civilized world would continue to grow and progress for decade after unbroken decade. And with Frang over 20 meters behind, Oscar probably clocked 1.40 at the split, just as magical as the last one.
Chances looked good for yet another record. He skated the last lap as smoothly as before and pumped with both arms in a finish that was characterized as unique by knowledgeable onlookers.
Rumours of a new record circulated well before any time was announced. And when the figures of 2.17,4 finally were made public, ones that were to become more magical than any other, the well-bred crowds forgot their breeding and were absorbed in an unrestrained flood of applause that swept everything along like a lavine of wild ecstasy.
Then the flag went down, and the skaters started their race. On the oily smooth ice they built up high speeds quickly as the international spectatorship provided auditory encouragement. The sun was high, and there was peace in the world. Frenchmen, Germans, Englishmen and Austrians stood side by side, cheering for the speedy Norwegian. Maybe a Turk, Bulgarian, Greek or two were amongst them, too, or someone from another of the fresh Balkan king- or princedoms. Mathisen and Frang entered the first curve, leaning well over in the high speed, pumping it even higher before they entered the second straight with Oscar in a slight lead, as expected. The split-time? Probably 29.
They started the 2nd lap in the enchanting light, reminiscent of Easter back home. Witnesses have claimed that the race was the most beautiful ever seen in Davos, seemingly effortless, yet so fast. Oscar had done what he came here for; this race was only a bonus. He could relax, letting his power play out and enjoy the wonder-ice, knowing for every stride precisely where to set his skate down, exactly where to roll over, where to push, in a muse-rhythm enrapturing skaters as well as spectators. Out on the back-straight again he went with Frang chasing behind, then the outer curve and another straight, his pair mate still close. The split likely was 1.04—magically the same figures as his birth date.
They started the 3rd lap in the wonderful sunshine irradiating the Davos valley, under the slopes of tall mountains and the classical sanatorium fronts. The high speed was beginning to tell a little, and the next crossing was close, with Oscar entering the curve before his club mate. The rest of the race he had to do by himself. Still he could sit and glide stroke after stroke, enjoying the speed and the whole atmosphere. The peacefully coexisting audience rejoiced in his enchanting rhythm and recognised it as a symptom of how their civilized world would continue to grow and progress for decade after unbroken decade. And with Frang over 20 meters behind, Oscar probably clocked 1.40 at the split, just as magical as the last one.
Chances looked good for yet another record. He skated the last lap as smoothly as before and pumped with both arms in a finish that was characterized as unique by knowledgeable onlookers.
Rumours of a new record circulated well before any time was announced. And when the figures of 2.17,4 finally were made public, ones that were to become more magical than any other, the well-bred crowds forgot their breeding and were absorbed in an unrestrained flood of applause that swept everything along like a lavine of wild ecstasy.
The 10.000 meter
After lunch and a bit of figure skating plus some Swiss juniors achieving half-reasonable times it was time for the finals. This time the pair mate of Oscar was his old rival Thomas Bohrer. And the excitement of the audience seemed to have remained through the lunch break, for never before had he felt so chased by the crowds through a 10000 meter. The roar of excitement was not constant, it followed him along the ring of spectators. He had never experienced such affection and support, not even back home at Frogner. They really wanted him to set a new record now, many of them were bound to make good money if he did, not to mention what they were bound to lose if he didn´t make it. So skater and audience clearly had a common cause here. He felt he had a chance, too, the pace felt good. Bohrer fell longer and longer behind and was close to being lapped at the end. The last 500 meters Oscar accelerated so well that the ones on the stands who had bet on 4 records (and didn´t have their own watches) virtually felt the bank notes crackle in their hands as they cheered the sprightly Norwegian across the finishing line. Silence fell the more deeply as the time was announced to 17.58,4. This was well above his 1913 record of 17.22,6. Anyway the silence didn’t last long. Sportsmanship prevailed and the economically now somewhat less well to do audience applauded as unrestrained as before.
Comment by Willem Saris
This was an impressive weekend in Davos. Three world records by one skater is an impressive result. The idea of the invitation was that Oscar Mathisen would realize world record that would remain valid for a long time. The record on the 500 meter was not improved during 14 years. The world record on the 1500 meter was not improved till 1937, and so was the world record for 23 years. His 5000 meter world record was improved by himself 2 years later and one year later by another skater. The first two records were again improved in Davos like many other world records. This story illustrates how important Davos was for realizing world records in speed skating as we also illustrated in an other story.
After lunch and a bit of figure skating plus some Swiss juniors achieving half-reasonable times it was time for the finals. This time the pair mate of Oscar was his old rival Thomas Bohrer. And the excitement of the audience seemed to have remained through the lunch break, for never before had he felt so chased by the crowds through a 10000 meter. The roar of excitement was not constant, it followed him along the ring of spectators. He had never experienced such affection and support, not even back home at Frogner. They really wanted him to set a new record now, many of them were bound to make good money if he did, not to mention what they were bound to lose if he didn´t make it. So skater and audience clearly had a common cause here. He felt he had a chance, too, the pace felt good. Bohrer fell longer and longer behind and was close to being lapped at the end. The last 500 meters Oscar accelerated so well that the ones on the stands who had bet on 4 records (and didn´t have their own watches) virtually felt the bank notes crackle in their hands as they cheered the sprightly Norwegian across the finishing line. Silence fell the more deeply as the time was announced to 17.58,4. This was well above his 1913 record of 17.22,6. Anyway the silence didn’t last long. Sportsmanship prevailed and the economically now somewhat less well to do audience applauded as unrestrained as before.
Comment by Willem Saris
This was an impressive weekend in Davos. Three world records by one skater is an impressive result. The idea of the invitation was that Oscar Mathisen would realize world record that would remain valid for a long time. The record on the 500 meter was not improved during 14 years. The world record on the 1500 meter was not improved till 1937, and so was the world record for 23 years. His 5000 meter world record was improved by himself 2 years later and one year later by another skater. The first two records were again improved in Davos like many other world records. This story illustrates how important Davos was for realizing world records in speed skating as we also illustrated in an other story.