Conrad Carlsrud

Norway was not planning to compete in the 1906 Intercalated Games because of the struggle for dissolving the union with Sweden. When the negotiations with Sweden in Karlstad ended with a peaceful agreement, the NOC of Norway decided to enter a team with 32 athletes, including a team of 20 men in team all-around gymnastics. Among them was Conrad Carlsrud, a 22-year old office worker who had also showed a talent for many athletic events, especially as a javelin thrower.

The Norwegian team won the gold medal after a close battle with the Danish team, the first Olympic gold medal ever for Norway. In the javelin throw, Carlsrud finished eighth, but his mark is not known. Carlsrud was also selected for the gymnastic team for the 1908 London Olympics, in which Norway won the silver medal behind Sweden, and the 24-year old from Porsgrunn added another Olympic medal to his collection.

Carlsrud was a decent soccer player and played center half for IF Urædd in the Norwegian Cup final against Lyn Oslo, which they lost 5-2. After studying engineering in Berlin 1912-14, he worked as an engineer in Porsgrunn. Carlsrud then married; he and his wife had a daughter and the family emigrated to the United States in 1922. They settled in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Carlsrud worked in the metal industry. After he retired, he started his own firm, constructing machinery designed for the metal industry. He died in 1973, aged 89.

Personal Best: JT – 42.57 (1906).