Geir Karlstad

Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach.

Geir Karlstad

Geir Karlstad
Personal information
Nationality	Norwegian
Born	(1963-07-07) 7 July 1963 (age 61) Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Country	Norway
Sport	Speed skating
Club	SK Ceres (1972/73–1981/82) Ask SK (1982/83–1986/87) Lillestrøm SK (1987/88–1991/92)
Turned pro	1981
Retired	1992
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 39.41 (1992) 1000 m: 1:22.5 (1981) 1500 m: 1:55.24 (1992) 3000 m: 3:59.78 (1987) 5000 m: 6:43.59 (1987) 10 000 m: 13:48.29 (1992)
Medal record Men's speed skating Olympic Games 1992 Albertville 5,000 m 1992 Albertville 10,000 m World Allround 1989 Oslo Allround European Allround 1989 Gothenburg Allround World Junior 1982 Innsbruck Allround Norwegian Allround 1989 Hundorp Allround 1990 Verdal Allround 1985 Trondheim Allround 1986 Jevnaker Allround 1988 Oslo Allround 1991 Hol/Gol Allround 1992 Savalen Allround Norwegian Single Distances 1987 Stavanger 5,000 m 1987 Stavanger 10,000 m 1988 Hundorp 5,000 m 1992 Trondheim 5,000 m 1987 Stavanger 1,500 m 1990 Brandbu 1,500 m 1990 Brandbu 5,000 m

Biography

Although best at the longest distances (the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m), Geir Karlstad became Junior World Allround Champion in 1982 and, as a senior, won bronze in both the World and European Allround Championships in 1989. Among the dominating speed skaters in the 1980s, Karlstad competed at the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, winning no medals. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, he won the gold medal on the 5,000 m and the bronze on the 10,000 m while skating for Lillestrøm SK. He also represented Aktiv SK, but in his youth he represented SK Ceres.

A severe back injury forced him to end his career before the 1994 Winter Olympics of Lillehammer held in his homeland. He had originally intended to end his career at those Winter Olympics. From 1998 to 2002, he was the national team coach of the Norwegian speed skating team. Karlstad received the Oscar Mathisen Award in 1986.

Medals

An overview of medals won by Karlstad at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Championships	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
Winter Olympics	1992 (5,000 m)	–	1992 (10,000 m)
World Allround	–	–	1989
European Allround	–	–	1989
Norwegian Allround	1989 1990	1985 1986 1988 1991 1992	–
Norwegian Single Distance	1987 (5,000 m) 1987 (10,000 m) 1988 (5,000 m) 1992 (5,000 m)	1987 (1,500 m) 1990 (1,500 m) 1990 (5,000 m)	–

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Karlstad set five world records:

Discipline	Time	Date	Location
10,000 m	14.12,14	16 February 1986	Inzell
10,000 m	14.03,92	15 February 1987	Heerenveen
5,000 m	6.45,44	22 November 1987	Heerenveen
5,000 m	6.43,59	4 December 1987	Calgary
10,000 m	13.48,51	6 December 1987	Calgary

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com^[1]

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Karlstad skated his personal records.

Event	Result	Date	Venue	WR
500 m	39.41	17 January 1992	Heerenveen	36.45
1,000 m	1:22.5	25 January 1981	Notodden	1:13.60
1,500 m	1:55.24	22 March 1992	Calgary	1:52.06
3,000 m	3:59.78	19 March 1987	Heerenveen	4:03.22
5,000 m	6:43.59	4 December 1987	Calgary	6:45.44
10,000 m	13:48.29	19 January 1992	Heerenveen	13:43.54
Big combination	160.189	19 January 1992	Heerenveen	157.396

Karlstad's personal record on the 3,000 m was not a world record because Leo Visser skated 3:59.27 at the same tournament.

Karlstad has an Adelskalender score of 159.596 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was seventh place.