The Speed Skater
Among the graves in the lower section of Tilfredshet Cemetery stands a monument that rises higher than the others. It is a fitting memorial for Peder Østlund.
PEDER ØSTLUND: 1872–1939
The Speed Skater
Among the graves in the lower section of Tilfredshet Cemetery stands a monument that rises higher than the others. It is a fitting memorial for Peder Østlund.
On the ice, he was a towering figure who frequently stood atop the winner’s podium after victorious races.
Born in 1872, Østlund took his first tentative strides on skates at Ytre Kongsgård, the first rink of Trondhjems Skøiteklub (Trondheim Skating Club).
In the 1880s, he continued his development, now with greater confidence, at the club’s new rink on the former gasworks site at Kalvskinnet. During the 1890s, the rink at Museumsplassen became his regular home track.
There, at the age of nineteen in 1892, he skated faster than the world records for both one and three English miles. The following year, in Hamar, Peder Østlund set a world record in the 1,500 metres, a mark he improved at the same venue in 1894. That year he also represented Norway in both the European and World Championships, joining the world elite with medals in several distances and an overall silver medal at the European Championships.
After a stay in the United States in 1894–95, Østlund returned to competitive skating in 1896. The latter half of the 1890s proved to be the finest period of his career. He became Norwegian champion in 1898, winning all four races, European champion in both 1899 and 1900, and World Champion in Davos in 1898 and Berlin in 1899.
Following the European Championships in Budapest in 1900, he travelled once more to Davos, where he made speed-skating history. In a single competition, he set four world records, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 metres.
His 5,000-metre world record stood until 1908, while his 10,000-metre record remained unbeaten until 1912.
Peder Østlund was a member of Trondhjems Skøiteklub, Norway’s leading skating club around the turn of the twentieth century. Among his clubmates were the speed skaters Wilhelm Mauseth and Edvard Engelsaas, as well as the figure skaters Johan Lefstad and Oscar Holthe.
After retiring from active competition, Østlund continued to serve the sport as an official at numerous skating events, including several championships in Trondheim. His final major assignment was at the World Championships held at Trondheim Stadium in 1933.