Simon SLATTVIK

Simon Slåttvik was born and raised in the rural community of Valnesfjord in Northern Norway under rather modest conditions. At the age of 15 he started to compete in local competitions organized by the Worker’s Sport Union. He excelled both in cross-country and ski jumping, moved to the town of Mo i Rana and became a member of the club Stålkameratene. In 1939 he won the Worker’s Sport Union Championships for Norway in Nordic combined, but had no competitions in the following years due to World War II. In 1947, aged 29, he made a strong comeback and won the Norwegian Championships in Nordic combined. The year after he was not selected for the Olympic team, but after the Olympics he won at Holmenkollen, beating all members of the Norwegian Olympic team and also the silver medalist from St. Moritz, the Finn Martti Huhtala. He then emerged as the top Norwegian Nordic combined skier for the following seasons, winning the National Championship in 1949 and 1951 and Holmenkollen in 1950 and 1951. After his third victory at Holmenkollen in 1951 he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal. In 1950 he won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Lake Placid.

With the defending champion Heikki Hasu, Slåttvik was favored for 1952 Winter Olympic gold, but started badly with a fall on his first jump in the ski jumping part in the competition. With two jumps out of three counting, he came strongly back and won the jumping with a clear margin over Hasu. The Finn had to beat him by 4:32 minutes in the cross-country portion, but Slåttvik skied the race of his life, coming in third in the combined race, only 3:16 minutes behind Hasu.

Slåttvik continued to compete after his Olympic victory, winning his fourth national title in 1953 and placing fifth at the 1954 World Championships, and competed past the age of 40. He moved to Lillehammer in the early 50s, married and had two sons, the youngest of whom was named Heikki after his main rival and friend Heikki Hasu. He ran a kiosk in Lillehammer until his retirement. Slåttvik was a very popular athlete, his fans appreciating his energy and relaxed attitude. He was not so fond of hard training, but a great natural talent who could relax after his competitions smoking a cigarette.