Two-time Olympic rowing champion Olaf Tufte, who competed in an astonishing seven consecutive Summer Games, has died at the age of 50.
Norwegian media reported on Tuesday that a statement from Tufte’s family confirmed he was found unconscious at their farm before passing away at a hospital in Oslo.
"Tufte brought immense joy through sport to us as a nation," Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a statement. "He was one of Norway’s greatest sporting heroes, a decorated Summer Olympian, one of the finest rowers we have ever had, and a great role model to many."
Tufte’s illustrious career spanned from the Atlanta Games in 1996 to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He claimed back-to-back gold medals in the single sculls at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, with further Olympic success including a silver in double sculls at Sydney in 2000 and a bronze in the same event at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
"He closed out his competitive career at the Tokyo Olympics at age 45, rowing in the men’s quadruple sculls alongside teammates young enough to have been born after his own Olympic debut," World Rowing said in a statement. "The veteran mentor, still on the water, still leading by example."
Beyond his competitive rowing, Tufte remained deeply involved in the sport, coaching Birgit Skarstein to a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
"Alongside his rowing, Tufte ran the family farm, worked as a volunteer firefighter, and built businesses including a concrete company, the clothing brand Tufte Wear and a brewery," World Rowing said.
The governing body cited a quote from Tufte who once said: "I’m not made for resting. I need to do other stuff otherwise I get bored."
AP
