Norway at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Norway competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Norway at the 2008 Summer Olympics
IOC code	NOR
NOC	Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports
Website	www.idrett.no (in Norwegian)
in Beijing
Competitors	85 in 15 sports
Flag bearers	Ruth Kasirye (opening) Gro Hammerseng (closing)
Medals Ranked 22nd	Gold 3 Silver 5 Bronze 1 Total 9
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

On 10 June, the NOC selected 50 athletes for the Olympic Games.^[1] A week later, a further eight athletes were added. More selections were made on 17 June,^[2] 1 July,^[3] 14 July (a handball squad) and 17 July.^[4] A total of 85 participants were selected for the Olympics.^[5]

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Andreas Thorkildsen	Athletics	Men's javelin throw	23 August
Gold	Norway women's national handball team Kari Aalvik Grimsbø Katja Nyberg Ragnhild Aamodt Gøril Snorroeggen Else Marthe Sørlie Lybekk Tonje Nøstvold Karoline Dyhre Breivang Kristine Lunde Gro Hammerseng Kari Mette Johansen Marit Malm Frafjord Tonje Larsen Katrine Lunde Haraldsen Linn Kristin Riegelhuth	Handball	Women's tournament	23 August
Gold	Olaf Tufte	Rowing	Men's single sculls	16 August
Silver	Nina Solheim	Taekwondo	Women's +67 kg	23 August
Silver	Alexander Dale Oen	Swimming	Men's 100 m breaststroke	11 August
Silver	Tore Brovold	Shooting	Men's skeet	16 August
Silver	Kjersti Plätzer	Athletics	Women's 20 km walk	21 August
Silver	Eirik Verås Larsen	Canoeing	Men's K-1 1000 m	22 August
Bronze	Sara Nordenstam	Swimming	Women's 200 m breaststroke	15 August

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Jaysuma Saidy Ndure	100 m	10.37	3 Q	10.14	4	Did not advance
	200 m	20.54	2 Q	20.45	3 Q	DNS		Did not advance
Trond Nymark	50 km walk	—						DNF
Erik Tysse	20 km walk	—						1:22:43	21
	50 km walk	—						3:45:21	5

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Andreas Thorkildsen	Javelin throw	79.85	9 Q	90.57 OR

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Ezinne Okparaebo	100 m	11.32	2 Q	11.45	4	Did not advance
Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu	Marathon	—						2:34:35	34
Kjersti Plätzer	20 km walk	—						1:27:07
Christina Vukicevic	100 m hurdles	13.05	4	—		Did not advance

Combined events – Heptathlon

Athlete	Event	100H	HJ	SP	200 m	LJ	JT	800 m	Final	Rank
Ida Marcussen	Result	14.07	1.71	12.97	25.02	6.06	47.37	2:14.96	6015	21*
	Points	968	867	725	885	868	809	893

* The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance.^[6] Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and Marcussen moved up a position.

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Eirik Verås Larsen	Men's K-1 500 m	1:36.439	2 QS	1:41.927	2 Q	1:37.949	4
	Men's K-1 1000 m	3:29.043	1 QF	Bye		3:27.342

Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Road

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Kurt Asle Arvesen	Men's road race	6:26:17	32
Edvald Boasson Hagen		6:36:48	71
Lars Petter Nordhaug		Did not finish
Gabriel Rasch		Did not finish
Anita Valen de Vries	Women's road race	3:33:17	26

On 1 August, Thor Hushovd announced his withdrawal due to an illness, and was replaced by Nordhaug.^[7]

Mountain biking

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Lene Byberg	Women's cross-country	1:53:19	13
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå		Did not finish

BMX

Athlete	Event	Seeding		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Result	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Result	Rank
Sebastian Kartfjord	Men's BMX	38.688	30	19	8	Did not advance

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Show jumping

Athlete	Horse	Event	Qualification								Final					Total
			Round 1		Round 2			Round 3			Round A		Round B
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Morten Djupvik	Casino	Individual	1	=14	12	13	33 Q	4	17	23 Q	4	11	4	8	7	8	10
Stein Endresen	Le Beau		0	=1	4	4	8 Q	12	16	18 Q	0	=1	16	16	18	16	16
Geir Gulliksen	Cattani		13	65	12	25	51	Did not advance								25	51
Tony André Hansen	Camiro 19		1	=14	1	2	4 Q	1	3	1 Q	Withdrew[8]
Morten Djupvik Stein Endresen Geir Gulliksen Tony André Hansen[9]	See above	Team	—								28	10	21	49	10	49	DSQ*

* Tony André Hansen's horse Camiro tested positive for the pain relieving medication capsaicin, a banned substance. Hansen was later disqualified. Without Hansen's score, the team was below the threshold to advance to round 2 of the finals. Therefore, the bronze medal was stripped and awarded to the team from Switzerland.^[10]

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Sturla Torkildsen	Individual épée	Mejías (VEN) W 12–11	Tagliariol (ITA) L 10–15	Did not advance

Football

Main article: Football at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The men's under-21 team failed to qualify after drawing with Bosnia-Herzegovina and losing to Armenia in the first qualifying stage. Meanwhile, the women's team qualified for the Olympics after placing in the semi-final round at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Women's tournament

Roster

Head coach: Bjarne Berntsen

Norway named a squad of 18 players and 4 alternates for the tournament.^[11][12][13]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Erika Skarbø	(1987-06-12)12 June 1987 (aged 21)	7	0	Arna-Bjørnar Fotball
2	2DF	Ane Stangeland Horpestad (captain)	(1980-06-02)2 June 1980 (aged 28)	100	5	Klepp IL
3	2DF	Gunhild Følstad	(1981-11-03)3 November 1981 (aged 26)	69	1	Trondheims-Ørn SK
4	3MF	Ingvild Stensland	(1981-08-03)3 August 1981 (aged 27)	68	2	Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC
5	2DF	Siri Nordby	(1978-08-04)4 August 1978 (aged 30)	38	1	Røa IL
6	3MF	Marie Knutsen	(1982-08-31)31 August 1982 (aged 25)	48	5	Røa IL
7	2DF	Trine Rønning	(1982-06-14)14 June 1982 (aged 26)	83	15	Kolbotn Fotball
8	4FW	Solveig Gulbrandsen	(1981-01-12)12 January 1981 (aged 27)	121	39	Kolbotn Fotball
9	4FW	Isabell Herlovsen	(1988-06-23)23 June 1988 (aged 20)	35	5	Kolbotn Fotball
10	4FW	Melissa Wiik	(1985-02-07)7 February 1985 (aged 23)	30	12	Asker SK
11	4FW	Leni Larsen Kaurin	(1981-03-21)21 March 1981 (aged 27)	44	3	1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
12	2DF	Marit Fiane Christensen	(1980-12-11)11 December 1980 (aged 27)	58	7	Røa IL
13	3MF	Lene Storløkken	(1981-06-20)20 June 1981 (aged 27)	34	5	Team Strømmen FK
14	4FW	Guro Knutsen	(1985-01-10)10 January 1985 (aged 23)	8	1	Røa IL
15	2DF	Marita Skammelsrud Lund	(1989-01-29)29 January 1989 (aged 19)	7	0	Team Strømmen FK
16	4FW	Elise Thorsnes	(1988-08-14)14 August 1988 (aged 19)	16	1	Arna-Bjørnar Fotball
17	4FW	Lene Mykjåland	(1987-02-20)20 February 1987 (aged 21)	18	5	Røa IL
18	1GK	Christine Colombo Nilsen	(1982-04-30)30 April 1982 (aged 26)	5	0	Kolbotn Fotball

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6	Qualified for the quarterfinals
2	Norway	3	2	0	1	4	5	−1	6
3	Japan	3	1	1	1	7	4	+3	4
4	New Zealand	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

6 August 2008

19:45

Norway	2–0	United States
Larsen Kaurin 2' Wiik 4'	Report

Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao

Attendance: 17,673

Referee: Nicole Petignat (Switzerland)

9 August 2008

19:45

New Zealand	0–1	Norway
	Report	Wiik 8'

Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao

Attendance: 7,285

Referee: Estela Alvarez (Argentina)

12 August 2008

19:45

Norway	1–5	Japan
Knutsen 27'	Report	Kinga 31' Følstad 51' (o.g.) Ohno 52' Sawa 71' Hara 83'

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 16,872

Referee: Shane de Silva (Trinidad and Tobago)

Handball

Main article: Handball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The women's team qualified due to winning the European Championships.

Women's tournament

Roster

The following is the Norway roster in the women's handball tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[14]

Head coach: Marit Breivik

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club 1 GK Kari Aalvik Grimsbø (1985-01-04)4 January 1985 (aged 23) 1.80 m 30 0 Byåsen IL 3 LB Katja Nyberg (1979-08-24)24 August 1979 (aged 28) 1.83 m 92 304 Ikast-Bording EH 4 RW Ragnhild Aamodt (1980-09-09)9 September 1980 (aged 27) 1.63 m 111 276 Ikast-Bording EH 5 LB Gøril Snorroeggen (1985-02-15)15 February 1985 (aged 23) 1.78 m 60 151 Byåsen IL 6 P Else Marthe Sørlie Lybekk (1978-09-11)11 September 1978 (aged 29) 1.78 m 207 567 Nordstrand IF 7 RB Tonje Nøstvold (1985-05-07)7 May 1985 (aged 23) 1.78 m 73 140 Ikast-Bording EH 8 RB Karoline Dyhre Breivang (1980-05-10)10 May 1980 (aged 28) 1.73 m 147 282 Larvik HK 9 LB Kristine Lunde (1980-03-30)30 March 1980 (aged 28) 1.83 m 110 349 Viborg HK 10 CB Gro Hammerseng (1980-04-10)10 April 1980 (aged 28) 1.80 m 139 559 Ikast-Bording EH 11 LW Kari Mette Johansen (1979-01-11)11 January 1979 (aged 29) 1.73 m 103 280 Larvik HK 13 P Marit Malm Frafjord (1986-11-25)25 November 1986 (aged 21) 1.83 m 53 111 Byåsen IL 14 LB Tonje Larsen (1975-01-26)26 January 1975 (aged 33) 1.83 m 220 453 Larvik HK 16 GK Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (1980-03-30)30 March 1980 (aged 28) 1.80 m 111 1 Viborg HK 18 RB Linn Kristin Riegelhuth (1984-08-01)1 August 1984 (aged 24) 1.75 m 105 363 Larvik HK

Group play

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Norway	5	5	0	0	154	106	+48	10	Qualified for the quarterfinals
Romania	5	4	0	1	150	112	+38	8
China	5	2	0	3	122	135	−13	4
France	5	2	0	3	121	128	−7	4
Kazakhstan	5	1	1	3	109	137	−28	3
Angola	5	0	1	4	109	147	−38	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

9 August 2008 19:00	Norway	30 – 23	China	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Elmoamli, Shaban Ali (EGY)
	Hammerseng 7	(13–12)	Li Weiwei 8
	3× 5×	Report	3× 7×

11 August 2008 14:00	Angola	17 – 31	Norway	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Liu S, Liu F (CHN)
	Almeida 5	(6–14)	Riegelhuth 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 2×

13 August 2008 19:00	Norway	35 – 19	Kazakhstan	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Aires Menezes, Aparecido Pinto (BRA)
	Lybekk, Nyberg 5	(14–10)	Vassilyeva 6
	3× 3×	Report	3× 5×

15 August 2008 19:00	France	24 – 34	Norway	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Krstic, Ljubic (SLO)
	Baudouin 6	(12–15)	Nyberg, Riegelhuth 6
	3× 4×	Report	3× 3×

17 August 2008 14:00	Norway	24 – 23	Romania	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Chernega, Poladenko (RUS)
	Johansen, Lybekk 4	(12–11)	Amariei, Stanca-Gâlcă 5
	2× 4×	Report	4× 6× 1×

Quarterfinal

19 August 2008 12:00	Norway	31 – 24	Sweden	Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium Referees: Baum, Goralczyk (POL)
	Larsen, Lybekk 6	(16–10)	Torstenson 6
	3× 4×	Report	4× 2×

Semifinal

21 August 2008 18:00	Norway	29 – 28	South Korea	Beijing National Indoor Stadium Referees: Breto, Huelin (ESP)
	Hammerseng, Johansen 6	(14–15)	Moon Pil-hee 9
	2× 3×	Report	3× 2×

Gold medal game

23 August 2008 15:45	Norway	34 – 27	Russia	Beijing National Indoor Stadium Referees: Bord, Buy (FRA)
	Riegelhuth 9	(18–13)	Bliznova 6
	3× 3×	Report	2× 2×

Final rank

 Gold

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Olaf Tufte	Single sculls	7:20.20	1 QF	6:53.59	1 SA/B	6:58.23	2 FA	6:59.83

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Kristian Ruth	Laser	10	11	17	10	3	8	13	21	38	CAN	16	109	10

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Jannicke Stålstrøm	RS:X	7	DSQ	2	12	9	10	15	13	21	18	EL	117	15
Cathrine Gjerpen	Laser Radial	26	27	24	27	23	28	23	27	25	CAN	EL	202	28
Lise Birgitte Frederiksen Alexandra Koefoed Siren Sundby	Yngling	12	13	5	1	3	13	12	11	CAN	CAN	7	71	9

Open

Athlete	Event	Race																Score	Rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	M
Peer Moberg	Finn	23	DSQ	11	19	22	1	DSQ	4	CAN	CAN	—					EL	107	19
Frode Bovim Christopher Gundersen	49er	11	13	18	7	10	8	14	11	13	19	12	11	CAN	CAN	CAN	EL	128	13

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Vebjørn Berg	10 m air rifle	592	22	Did not advance
	50 m rifle prone	596	3 Q	699.1	4
	50 m rifle 3 positions	1172	5 Q	1266.5	8
Espen Berg-Knutsen	50 m rifle prone	594	11	Did not advance
	50 m rifle 3 positions	1160	30	Did not advance
Tore Brovold	Skeet	120	2 Q	145 S/O 3
Are Hansen	10 m air rifle	592	19	Did not advance
Harald Jensen	Skeet	118	12	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Gyda Ellefsplass Olssen	10 m air rifle	391	34	Did not advance
	50 m rifle 3 positions	575	27	Did not advance
Kristina Vestveit	10 m air rifle	395	14	Did not advance
	50 m rifle 3 positions	573	29	Did not advance

The Norwegian Shooting Federation had suggested selecting Ingrid Stubsjøen for the team, but the Norwegian National Olympic Committee selected Vestveit instead after good performances in the final World Cup event of the 2008 season.^[15]

Swimming

Alexander Dale Oen won Norway's first ever swimming medal at the Olympics.

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Gard Kvale	200 m freestyle	1:48.73 NR	27	Did not advance
	400 m freestyle	3:50.47	26	—		Did not advance
	200 m individual medley	2:01.52 NR	25	Did not advance
Alexander Dale Oen	100 m breaststroke	59.41 OR	1 Q	59.16 OR	1 Q	59.20
	200 m breaststroke	2:11.30	17	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Sara Nordenstam	200 m breaststroke	2.24.47 NR	4 Q	2:23.79 EU	4 Q	2:23.02 EU
	200 m individual medley	2:15.13 NR	23	Did not advance
	400 m individual medley	4:40.28 NR	18	—		Did not advance
Ingvild Snildal	100 m butterfly	59.86 NR	27	Did not advance
	200 m butterfly	2:14.53	33	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Bronze Medal	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Nina Solheim	Women's +67 kg	Abd Rabo (EGY) W 9–3	Che C C (MAS) W 3–1	Falavigna (BRA) W 2–2 SUP	Bye		Espinoza (MEX) L 1–3

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Beach

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Standing	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Jørre Kjemperud Tarjei Skarlund	Men's	Pool E  Klemperer – Koreng (GER) L 1 – 2 (21–19, 20–22, 7–15)  Nummerdor – Schuil (NED) L 1 – 2 (21–13, 15–21, 9–15)  Laciga – Schnider (SUI) L 0 – 2 (17–21, 13–21)	4	Did not advance
Susanne Glesnes Kathrine Maaseide	Women's	Pool B  Mouha – van Breedam (BEL) W 2 – 0 (24–22, 21–18)  Kuhn – Schwer (SUI) W 2 – 0 (21–11, 21–17)  Tian J – Wang J (CHN) L 1 – 2 (21–17, 14–21, 8–15)	2 Q	Talita – Renata (BRA) L 1 – 2 (21–12, 19–21, 13–15)	Did not advance
Nila Håkedal Ingrid Tørlen		Pool A  Fernández – Peraza (CUB) L 0 – 2 (20–22, 19–21)  Kusuhara – Teru Saiki (JPN) W 2 – 0 (21–8, 21–18)  May-Treanor – Walsh (USA) L 0 – 2 (12–21, 15–21) Lucky Loser  Candelas – García (MEX) W 2 – 1 (20–22, 21–12, 15–11)	3 Q	Tian J – Wang J (CHN) L 0 – 2 (13–21, 15–21)	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Ruth Kasirye	Women's −63 kg	103	4	121	8	224	7

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Key:

• VT – Victory by Fall.
• PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
• PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.

Men's Greco-Roman

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Stig André Berge	−60 kg	Bye	Tengizbayev (KAZ) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance					19

See also

• Norway at the 2008 Summer Paralympics