Norman Holwell

Norman Holwell joined the Birmingham Mohawks Skating Club at the age of 14. He won the British indoor one-mile title in 1949 and 1950, and the half-mile title in 1951. He finished eighth overall in his first major international event, the 1951 European Championships, and a week later competed in his first World Championships.

Prior to the 1952 Winter Olympics, Holwell temporarily resigned his job as a clerk with the Birmingham City Transport Office, to work eight hours a day in an Oslo radio factory, so he could get in plenty of local practice after work each day. Holwell competed in the Olympics, European and World Championships in 1952. He enjoyed another eighth-place finish overall in the 1953 Europeans.

After competing in the Europeans for the fourth time in 1955, Holwell was bizarrely overlooked for the 1956 Olympics, despite being the holder of four British outdoor speed skating events at the time. He was also an excellent Fens skater, and won the British One Mile Amateur Championship on the Fens at Cambridge, in 1952. He could not defend the title the following year because the weather was too good, but did retain it in 1954.

Personal Bests: 500 – 45.0 (1953); 1500 – 2:22.1 (1953); 5000 – 8:36.2 (1953); 10000 – 17:47.4 (1953).