| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1968-10-29)29 October 1968 (age 57) Drammen, Norway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft2+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Norway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 500 m: 37.98 (1994) 1000 m: 1:14.9 (1993) 1500 m: 1:51.29 (1994) 3000 m: 3:57.52 (1990) 5000 m: 6:34.96 (1994) 10 000 m: 13:30.55 (1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Johann Olav Koss (born 29 October 1968) is a formerspeed skater from Norway. He won four Olympic gold medals, including three at the1994 Winter Olympics in his home country.
Johann Olav Koss was born inDrammen,Buskerud County, Norway. Koss became the Norwegian Junior Champion in 1987, but he could not compete with the world top skaters in the 1986 and 1987 World Junior Championships. In 1988, he debuted with the seniors at the World Championships inAlma-Ata, but failed to qualify for the final distance. The following year, he finished eighth in the same tournament (after a fifteenth place in theEuropean Allround Championships), placing second on the 1,500 m. His breakthrough came in 1990, winning theWorld Allround Championships inInnsbruck,Austria. The following four years, he would win two more world titles (1991 and 1994), while finishing second in 1993 and third in 1992. He won the European Allround Championships in 1991 and finished second in the next three editions. Koss had a total of twenty-threeWorld Cup wins, while winning four overall World Cup titles (the 1,500 m in 1990 and 1991, and the combined 5,000/10,000 m in 1991 and 1994).
Koss made his Olympic debut at the1992 Winter Olympics, finishing seventh on the 5,000 m, five days after undergoing surgery because of an inflamedpancreas. He would recover to win gold on the 1,500 m (by only 0.04 seconds over his countrymanÅdne Søndrål) and silver on the 10,000 m (behind Dutch skaterBart Veldkamp).
In 1994, the final year of his speed skating career, Koss also gained fame outside the speed skating world by winning three gold medals at the1994 Winter Olympics in his native Norway, winning all races in newworld records, two of which would remain unbeaten until theclap skate era. For his performance, he was namedSports Illustrated magazine'sSportsman of the Year in 1994, together withBonnie Blair. In addition, he received theOscar Mathisen Award three times: in 1990, 1991, and 1994.
After his speed skating career, Koss trained as aphysician at theUniversity of Queensland in Australia.[3] He became aUNICEF ambassador and a member of theInternational Olympic Committee (until 2002). He marriedCanadian businessperson and politicianBelinda Stronach on 31 December 1999, but they divorced in 2003.
in 2000, Koss founded the Canadian-based International Humanitarian Organisation,Right To Play, which uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. The organization operates in more than 20 countries reaching over one million children each week and is supported by more than 620 staff worldwide and over 14,900 volunteer coaches.[4] In August 2015, Koss transitioned into the role of founder at Right To Play, where he still stays very active in a variety of fundraising initiatives, and where he maintains his seat on the International Board of Directors.[4]
He married his second wife, Jennifer Lee, in New York on 23 May 2009. Lee's friendChelsea Clinton was one of the bridesmaids.[5] Lee is aHarvard College,University of Oxford, andHarvard Business School graduate, and a former cellist who studied atThe Juilliard School. She is the granddaughter of Kim Chung Yul,[6][better source needed] the former Prime Minister of South Korea and Chief of the Korean Armed Forces during the Korean War. She is the co-founder of a retail business calledBRIKA which sells products from under-the-radar artisans and makers.[7] Lee is a former management consultant and most recently a private equity investment professional atOntario Teachers' Private Capital inToronto. They have four children together, Aksel, Annabelle, Andreas and Aleksander.[citation needed]
In November 2009, after AmericanPeter Mueller was stripped of his coaching role with Norway for an inappropriate comment to a female team member, Koss was appointed head coach, despite no previous coaching experience. Association sporting director Oystein Haugen told Reuters that Koss has been a revelation despite no previous coaching experience.[8]
Koss completed hisExecutive MBA at theJoseph L. Rotman School of Management in theUniversity of Toronto inCanada. He hasHonorary Doctorates from several universities -Brock University,University of Calgary,Vrije Universiteit Brussels, and theUniversity of Agder in Norway.[4] On 1 July 2015, Koss was made anHonorary Member of the Order of Canada (CM).[9]
At the 2018 Olympic Games Koss was inducted into theOlympians for Life project for using sport to make a better world.[1]
An overview of medals won by Koss at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:
| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 1992 (1,500 m) 1994 (1,500 m) 1994 (5,000 m) 1994 (10,000 m) | 1992 (10,000 m) | – |
| World Allround | 1990 1991 1994 | 1993 | 1992 |
| World Cup | 1990 (1,500 m) 1991 (1,500 m) 1991 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) 1994 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) | 1992 (1,500 m) 1992 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) 1993 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) | 1990 (5,000 m / 10,000 m) |
| European Allround | 1991 | 1992 1993 1994 | – |
| Norwegian Allround | 1991 1992 1993 1994 | 1989 1990 | – |
| Norwegian Single Distance | 1989 (1,500 m) 1989 (5,000 m) 1990 (1,500 m) 1990 (5,000 m) 1990 (10,000 m) 1991 (1,500 m) 1991 (5,000 m) 1991 (10,000 m) 1993 (1,000 m) 1993 (5,000 m) 1994 (1,500 m) | 1989 (1,000 m) 1990 (1,000 m) 1992 (1,000 m) 1992 (5,000 m) | 1988 (10,000 m) 1991 (1,000 m) 1992 (1,500 m) 1994 (5,000 m) |
| Norwegian Marathon | – | 1988 | – |
Koss skated tenworld records:
| Event | Time | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3000 m | 3.57,52 | 13 March 1990 | Heerenveen |
| 5000 m | 6.41,73 | 9 February 1991 | Heerenveen |
| 10,000 m | 13.43,54 | 10 February 1991 | Heerenveen |
| Big combination | 157.396 | 10 February 1991 | Heerenveen |
| 5000 m | 6.38,77 | 22 January 1993 | Heerenveen |
| 5000 m | 6.36,57 | 13 March 1993 | Heerenveen |
| 5000 m | 6.35,53 | 4 December 1993 | Hamar |
| 5000 m | 6.34,96 | 13 February 1994 | Hamar |
| 1500 m | 1.51,29 | 16 February 1994 | Hamar |
| 10,000 m | 13.30,55 | 20 February 1994 | Hamar |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[10]
To put these personal records in perspective, theWR column lists the official world records on the dates that Koss skated his personal records.
| Event | Result | Date | Venue | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 37.98 | 7 January 1994 | Hamar | 35.92 |
| 1,000 m | 1:14.9 | 10 January 1993 | Hamar | 1:12.58 |
| 1,500 m | 1:51.29 | 16 February 1994 | Hamar | 1:51.60 |
| 3,000 m | 3:57.52 | 13 March 1990 | Heerenveen | 3:59.27 |
| 5,000 m | 6:34.96 | 13 February 1994 | Hamar | 6:35.53 |
| 10,000 m | 13:30.55 | 20 February 1994 | Hamar | 13:43.54 |
| Big combination | 157.257 | 9 January 1994 | Hamar | 156.882 |
Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[11]
Koss was number one on theAdelskalender, the all-time allround speed skating ranking, for a total of 1,998 days, divided over three periods between 1992 and 1997. He has an Adelskalender score of 155.099 points.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oscar Mathisen Award 1990–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oscar Mathisen Award 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United Press International Athlete of the Year 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year 1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year 1994 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
