Gunnar Huseby
{{short description|Icelandic track and field athlete}}
{{Icelandic name|Gunnar|surname}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Gunnar Huseby
| image =
| caption =
| nationality = Icelandic
| sport = Athletics
| event = shot put/discus
| club =
| birth_date = 4 November 1923
| birth_place =
| death_date = 28 May 1995 (aged 71)
| death_place =
| height =
| weight =
| medaltemplates=
{{Medal|Competition|European Athletics Championships}}
{{Medal|Gold |1946 Oslo|Shot put}}
{{Medal|Gold |1950 Brussels|Shot put}}
}}
Gunnar Alexander Huseby (4 November 1923 – 28 May 1995) was an Icelandic track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw events.
Biography
Huseby won consecutive gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in 1946 and 1950, becoming Iceland's first European champion in athletics. This placed him among the country's first top international sportsmen, following its independence in 1944. He remains the only Icelandic athlete to win two European athletics titles.
He won eighteen Icelandic national titles in total: ten in shot put, six in discus throw and two in hammer throw. His personal best marks of {{T&Fcalc|16.74}} for the shot put and {{T&Fcalc|50.13}} for the discus were Icelandic records.
Despite his national success, he also caused controversy in Iceland due to his alcoholism and a physical assault, for which he served a jail sentence. As a result, he was banned from competition for a period by the national governing body.
Career
=Early life=
Born in Reykjavík,[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1831309 Gunnar Alexander Huseby] {{in lang|is}}. Morgunblaðið (1995-06-07). Retrieved on 2014-10-19. he competed in various athletics events as a youth.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=999415 Drengjamót Í.S.Í.] {{in lang|is}}. Tíminn (1940-08-16). Retrieved on 2014-10-19. Gradually he began to focus on throwing events as he grew older. He reached the top levels of shot putting in 1944, throwing a mark of {{T&Fcalc|15.50}}, which ranked him fourth in the world that season (in the inter-war period).[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=2868&Gender=M Gunnar Huseby]. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2014-10-19.
=European gold medals=
Huseby's first international medal came at the 1946 European Athletics Championships – the first after the end of World War II. Having already set an Icelandic record of {{T&Fcalc|15.69}} and with international athletic competition regaining momentum, he took the gold medal with a throw of {{T&Fcalc|15.56}}, beating Soviet athlete Dmitriy Goryainov by a comfortable margin.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ec.htm European Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-19. This made him Iceland's first ever European champion in athletics. His win at the championships was significant for the country as it was Iceland's first top level international sporting success since its independence in 1944.[http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/450033/ Afrek Huseby fylltu unga þjóð stolti] {{in lang|is}}. MBL (1999-02-16). Retrieved on 2014-10-19. He also competed in the discus, finishing 14th in qualifying with {{T&Fcalc|41.74}}.[http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atm.php?ID=77649&Season=1946&Odd=0 Gunnar Huseby]. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-10-19.
He missed the 1948 season, meaning he did not compete London Olympics, but returned in strong form in 1949. That year he set a new Icelandic and Nordic record of {{T&Fcalc|16.41}} in Haugesund, bettering the previous mark by Roland Nilsson of Sweden. He also set a new Nordic record for the two-handed shot put at the same competition; he achieved a distance of {{T&Fcalc|11.88}} throwing with his left arm, meaning a record total of {{T&Fcalc|28.29}}.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1008724 Gunnar Huseby varpaði kúlunni 16,41 m. í Haugasundi] {{in lang|is}}. Tíminn (1949-07-20). Retrieved on 2014-10-19.
He returned to defend his shot put title at the 1950 European Athletics Championships and was easily the best in the field, setting a championship record of {{T&Fcalc|16.29}} to top qualifying before going further in the final with a national record and lifetime best of {{T&Fcalc|16.74}}. Huseby was a large distance ahead of runner-up Angiolo Profeti, who managed a little over fifteen metres.
Torfi Bryngeirsson won the men's long jump at the same tournament, making this Iceland's best ever European performance in the sport. Huseby's shot put title defence made him the most successful international Icelandic ever – no other athlete from the nation has won a European title since. He also managed to place eleventh in the discus qualifying. Huseby set a lifetime best for the discus that year, throwing the implement {{T&Fcalc|50.13}} to rank within the world's top twenty for that event.
He remained in good form in 1951, having season's best of {{T&Fcalc|16.69}} and {{T&Fcalc|49.35}} for the shot put and discus, respectively. He was invited to the AAA Championships in England and was victorious at the 1951 AAA Championships, with a throw of {{T&Fcalc|15.87}} – the furthest distance ever thrown at the competition at that point.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003359/19510715/149/0008 |title=Best Bannister Mile |work=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=15 July 1951 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=20 April 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=20 April 2025}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=20 April 2025}}
=Later career=
He developed alcoholism during this period and his approach to training and competition earned him a warning from Frjálsíþróttasamband Íslands (the national body for athletics) and an order that further bad conduct would warrant an international ban.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1087571 Keppir Gunnar í Austur-Berlín með aðvörunarbréf í vasanum?] {{in lang|is}}. Alþýðublaðið (1951-07-28). Retrieved on 2014-10-19. In 1952 he confessed to assault and robbery of a man in Reykjavík and was sentenced to twelve months in prison. This meant he missed his second opportunity to compete at the Olympics, which was held in Helsinki that year.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1173935 Huseby dæmdur í 12 mánaða fangelsi] {{in lang|is}}. Vísir (1952-03-04). Retrieved on 2014-10-19.
Upon his release, he set an Icelandic indoor record, but the governing body had disagreements with him returning to the national championships – a fact which attracted criticism in the press, given Huseby's standing as one of the nation's top sportsmen.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1095684 Var Gunnari Huseby neitað um að keppa til að hefnast á KR?] {{in lang|is}}. Alþýðublaðið (1953-07-30). Retrieved on 2014-10-19. Eventually he was given his competition license and went on to represent Iceland at the 1958 European Athletics Championships. His form was not sufficient to win a third straight title, however, and his best toss of {{T&Fcalc|15.62}} in the final placed the 35-year-old in 17th overall.
Huseby took his final Icelandic national title in 1962. This brought him to career totals of ten shot put titles, six discus throw titles and two hammer throw titles at the national championships. He reconciled with the governors of Frjálsíþróttasamband Íslands and an honorary retirement meeting was held in recognition of Huseby's 25-year athletics career.[http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2253464 Heiðraður fyrir 25 ára keppnistíma] {{in lang|is}}. Alþýðublaðið (1962-08-29). Retrieved on 2014-10-19.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Footer European Champions Shot Put Men}}
{{Footer British NC Shot Put Men}}
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