Alf Hansen –
the friendly Norwegian giant
© Peter Spurrier/Intersport-Images
With a population of less than five million, Norway is one of the smallest nations
in Europe, and proportionally, its rowing community is just as small. Yet out of this
Scandinavian country came rowing giants that have marked the history of
the sport: two-time Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte, yes, but also others
that made their way before him - one of whom was Alf Hansen.
might have been to question how somebody of
Alf’s size could possibly compete,” remembers
British Olympic Champion Martin Cross. “But
then you might have noticed the intensity of
his gaze from those steely blue eyes, his tanned
and weather-beaten skin honed after countless
hours of training in all weathers, and you would
understand that this man was something special.”
Alf Hansen (stroke), after winning
silver in the men’s quadruple
sculls at the 1987 World Rowing
Championships in Copenhagen,
Denmark. Crewmate Rolf Thorsen
is pictured behind him.
Alf was not a giant in the physical meaning of
the word. Most of his competitors exceeded his
height of 184cm and weight of between 82kg
and 84kg. But height and weight are not the
only characteristics that define a giant, as Alf’s
competitors well knew. “If you had seen Alf Hansen
standing next to any of his rivals, your first thought
Wrestling was Alf’s sport until age 15, when his
older brother Frank first took him down to the
rowing club. “The atmosphere and the sport
fascinated me - I was ‘hooked’,” says Alf. His first
rowing encounter sparked a passion that later
led him to engage in a 19-year rowing career
beginning with a first international medal in 1970
and ending with his last World Championship
participation in 1989, at age 41. During his time
as an international rower, Alf became an Olympic
Champion and four-time World Champion, and
also won numerous other World Championship
medals as well as Olympic silver.
In the first stages of his international career, Alf,
along with his brother Frank, trained with club
coach Viggo Winter who died suddenly in early
1974. That is when coaching legend Thor Nilsen
stepped in. “It was never a problem to train >
