Robert Sjursen changed his name to Rafto in 1946. He was a member of the Norwegian men’s gymnastics team, which won an Olympic gold medal in the all-around free system event. He was also an excellent track and field athlete, winning the 1918 Norwegian decathlon championship.
Sjursen had a very varied professional career. He was a machinist’s apprentice, and later worked as a dockworker, groundskeeper, and optician. In 1920, he married Hjørdis Elisa Rafto Thistel; they had two sons. The older son, Thorolf Thistel Rafto, was a human rights activist and professor of economic history at the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen. But he was, like his father, Norwegian decathlon champion in 1947.
Norway