Alfred Naess
Encyclopedia
Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss (April 26, 1877 – July 6, 1955) was a Norwegian speedskater
. He set the men's world record for 500 meter speed skating
on February 5, 1893 at 49.4 seconds in Hamar, Norway. He then broke his own world record 21 days later on February 26, 1893 at 48.0 seconds, then lowered it to 47.0 seconds on February 24, 1894 at Hamar, Norway. He was the youngest European champion of all time, in 1895 he was 17 years and 276 days when he won the European Speed Skating Championships for Men
.
or Skåtøy
; and Kristian Andersen Næss (1848-?) of Grue, Norway
. Karl Alfred was baptized as "Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss" on May 27, 1877 in the Garnison Menighet, in Oslo but he always used the name "Alfred Næss". His father, Christian, was an army sergeant. Alfred had two siblings: Carl Albert Næss (1874-?); and Alvilde Marie Magdalene Næss (1875-1933) who married Thorvald Martin Tandberg (1874-1970). Naess grew up in Vika. On February 6, 1897 in Montreal, Canada, he competed against Canadian Jack McCulloch
in the 1,500-meter race, McCulloch and Næss tied, invoking a run-off. McCulloch won the run-off by two-fifths of a second. Also on February 6, 1897 Naess equaled the world's record of 46.8 seconds set by Wilhelm Mauseth
on February 3, 1895 in Trondheim, Norway, but on February 7, 1897, the record was broken by Peder Østlund
with a time of 46.6. After Montreal he visited his sister in Portland, Maine
and gave a demonstration on February 17, 1897.
Næss won the Norway Allround Speed Skating Championships in Oslo in 1898, with gold medals in the 500 meter and the 1,500 meter, and a silver medal in the 5,000 meter. He set world records on three occasions in the 500 meter at Akersvika on Lake Mjøsa in Hamar, Norway. His best time was 47.0 in the European championships in 1894. Naess was in three European championships and three world championships, and he won the 500 meter race in two European championships and two world championships.
He later went on the vaudeville
circuit doing ice skate tricks on ice he would create in the theaters. His partner in paired skating was Freda Maier-Westorgaard of Frankenberg (c1890-1976) who died in Strasshof an der Nordbahn
, Austria
. She died in 1976. Naess was the maternal uncle of Carl Frederick Tandberg
, the bass musician. In 1913 Naess returned to the United States
and by 1920 he was married and living in a rented room in Manhattan
. He died on July 6, 1955 in Austria and was buried in Austria.
Long track speed skating
Speed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating...
. He set the men's world record for 500 meter speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
on February 5, 1893 at 49.4 seconds in Hamar, Norway. He then broke his own world record 21 days later on February 26, 1893 at 48.0 seconds, then lowered it to 47.0 seconds on February 24, 1894 at Hamar, Norway. He was the youngest European champion of all time, in 1895 he was 17 years and 276 days when he won the European Speed Skating Championships for Men
European Speed Skating Championships for Men
The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1891-1892.-History:-Distances used:...
.
Biography
He was the son of Anne Jette Jensen (1847-?) of KragerøKragerø
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø....
or Skåtøy
Skåtøy
Skåtøy is a the largest island in Kragerø municipality in Telemark county, Norway.Skåtøy was formerly a municipality. Skåtøy was separated from Sannidal January 1, 1882. It was merged with Kragerø January 1, 1960....
; and Kristian Andersen Næss (1848-?) of Grue, Norway
Grue, Norway
Grue is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Solør. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kirkenær ....
. Karl Alfred was baptized as "Karl Alfred Ingvald Næss" on May 27, 1877 in the Garnison Menighet, in Oslo but he always used the name "Alfred Næss". His father, Christian, was an army sergeant. Alfred had two siblings: Carl Albert Næss (1874-?); and Alvilde Marie Magdalene Næss (1875-1933) who married Thorvald Martin Tandberg (1874-1970). Naess grew up in Vika. On February 6, 1897 in Montreal, Canada, he competed against Canadian Jack McCulloch
Jack McCulloch
Jack McCulloch was a Canadian speed skater and ice hockey player. He won several Canadian amateur speed skating championships and one world championship.ex-Sports career:...
in the 1,500-meter race, McCulloch and Næss tied, invoking a run-off. McCulloch won the run-off by two-fifths of a second. Also on February 6, 1897 Naess equaled the world's record of 46.8 seconds set by Wilhelm Mauseth
Wilhelm Mauseth
Wilhelm Mauseth was a Norwegian speedskater.-Biography:He was born on October 8, 1875 in Bakke, Norway. He set a world record in 500 m in 1895 with the time 46.8. He was two time national all-round champion, in 1895 and 1896...
on February 3, 1895 in Trondheim, Norway, but on February 7, 1897, the record was broken by Peder Østlund
Peder Østlund
Peder Østlund was a Norwegian speed skater.Peder Østlund held the first position on the Adelskalender ranking during two periods, for a total of almost 10 years . He became World Allround Champion in 1898 and 1899, and became European Allround Champion in 1899 and 1900...
with a time of 46.6. After Montreal he visited his sister in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
and gave a demonstration on February 17, 1897.
Næss won the Norway Allround Speed Skating Championships in Oslo in 1898, with gold medals in the 500 meter and the 1,500 meter, and a silver medal in the 5,000 meter. He set world records on three occasions in the 500 meter at Akersvika on Lake Mjøsa in Hamar, Norway. His best time was 47.0 in the European championships in 1894. Naess was in three European championships and three world championships, and he won the 500 meter race in two European championships and two world championships.
He later went on the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit doing ice skate tricks on ice he would create in the theaters. His partner in paired skating was Freda Maier-Westorgaard of Frankenberg (c1890-1976) who died in Strasshof an der Nordbahn
Strasshof an der Nordbahn
Strasshof an der Nordbahn is a suburban town 25 km east of Vienna, Austria. The main attraction is the railroad museum . An historical locomotive built by LOFAG is displayed in the town.-History:...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. She died in 1976. Naess was the maternal uncle of Carl Frederick Tandberg
Carl Frederick Tandberg
Carl Frederick Tandberg , was a bass fiddle musician who recorded with Glen Campbell and Frankie Ortega.-Biography:...
, the bass musician. In 1913 Naess returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and by 1920 he was married and living in a rented room in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He died on July 6, 1955 in Austria and was buried in Austria.
Personal best
- 500 meters in 46.8 seconds
- 1,500 meters in 2 minutes and 35.0 seconds
- 5,000 meters in 9 minutes and 29.8 seconds
- 10,000 meters in 19 minutes and 17.0 seconds
Tournament results
Between 1894 and 1900 he competed in seven tournaments:| Tournament | Year | Date | Location | 500 meter | 1,500 meter | 5,000 meter | 10,000 meter | Highest | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1889-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1894 | 10 – 11 February 1894 |  StockholmStockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... |
50.4 s (1/q), 51.4 s (3) | 2 m 55.4 s (6/q) | ||||
| European Speed Skating Championships for Men European Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1891-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1894 | 24 – 25 February 1894 |  HamarHamar is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849... |
48.2 s (2/so), 47.0 s (1), 48.6 s (2/q) | 2 m 36.6 s (5/q) | ||||
| European Speed Skating Championships for Men European Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1891-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1895 | 26 – 27 January 1895 |  BudapestBudapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
47.6 s (1), 47.8 s (1/q) | 3 m 15.2 s (1), 2 m 49.8 s (2/q) | 9 m 38.4 s (1) | Gold | ||
| World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1889-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1897 | 5 – 6 February 1897 |  MontrealMontreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
46.8 s (1) | 2 m 42.4 s (1), 2 m 41.2 s (2/so) | 9 m 01.5 s (7) | |||
| European Speed Skating Championships for Men European Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1891-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1898 | 19 – 20 February 1898 |  HelsinkiHelsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
49.4 s (2) | 2 m 39.0 s (2) | 9 m 41.8 s (4) | |||
| Norway Allround Speed Skating Championships | 1898 | 25 – 26 February 1898 | Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
47.4 s (1) | 2 m 42.2 s (1) | 9 m 55.0 s (2) | Gold | ||
| World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial Championships were held in the years 1889-1892.-History:-Distances used:... |
1900 | 24 – 25 February 1900 | Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
47.2 s (2) | 2 m 42.0 s (2) | 9 m 59.2 s (7) | 20 m 49.2 s (4) | Second | |
Personal 500 meters progression
Between 1893 and 1894 he lowered his record in the 500 meter skate from 50.0 seconds to 46.8 seconds, setting three world records:| Date | Event | Seconds | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 January 1893 | 500 meters | 50.0 | Trondheim Trondheim Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of... |
|
| 5 February 1893 | 500 meters | 49.4 | Hamar Hamar is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849... |
World record |
| 19 February 1893 | 500 meters | 48.0 | Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
|
| 26 February 1893 | 500 meters | 48.0 | Hamar Hamar is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849... |
World record |
| 24 February 1894 | 500 meters | 47.0 | Hamar Hamar is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849... |
World record |
| 16 January 1895 | 500 meters | 47.0 | Davos Davos Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range... |
|
| 12 January 1896 | 500 meters | 46.8 | Hamar Hamar is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849... |
Personal best |
| 5 February 1897 | 500 meters | 46.8 | Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
Personal best |
See also
- List of speed skating records
- World record progression 500 m speed skating menWorld record progression 500 m speed skating menThe World record progression 500 m speed skating men as recognised by the International Skating Union:Note that the world record of 38.9 set by Hasse Börjes on 18 January 1970 had been manually timed and thus with a precision of only one tenth of a second...
External links
- Alfred Naess at SkateResults
- Alfred Næss at desg.de
- Alfred Næss at WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
- Alfred Næss at FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
- Alvilde Næss Tandberg, Alfred's sister, at Findagrave
- Alfred Næss at Findagrave