Sverre Strandli was a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

er, who won the gold medal at the European Championships in 1950

1950 European Championships in Athletics

The 4th European Athletics Championships were held from 23 August to 27 August 1950 in the Heysel Stadium of the Belgian capital Brussels.-Track:-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medals table:- External links :* *...

 and the silver medal in 1954

1954 European Championships in Athletics

The 5th European Athletics Championships were held from 25 August to 29 August 1954 in the Swiss capital Bern.-Men's results:-Women's results:-Medal table:- External links :* *...

.

At the Summer Olympics Strandli finished seventh in Helsinki 1952

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...

, eighth in Melbourne 1956

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...

 and eleventh in Rome 1960

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

. He was the Norwegian

Norway at the 1960 Summer Olympics

Norway competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 40 competitors, 39 men and 1 woman, took part in 39 events in 11 sports.-Athletics:Men's 100 metres*Carl Fredrik Bunæs* Heat — 10.80 s...

 flagbearer in Rome. At the 1962 European Championships

1962 European Championships in Athletics

The 7th European Athletics Championships were held from 12 September to 16 September 1962 in the Partizan Stadium in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.-Men's results:-Women's results:-Medal table:-References:* *...

 he did not qualify for the final. He became Norwegian champion in the years 1949-1954, 1956-1957 and 1960-1962, and took one national title in shot put

Shot put

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....

, in 1954. For his European Championships victory Strandli was selected Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year

Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year

The Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year is an annual award given by the Norwegian Association of Sports Journalists .-List of laureates:-References:*...

 in 1950.

Strandli established two world records

World records in athletics

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking....

 in hammer throw, both in 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...

. The first record of 61.25 metres came in September 1952 and the second of 62.36 metres was established a year later. The world record stood until August 1954, when Mikhail Krivonosov

Mikhail Krivonosov

Mikhail Petrovich Krivonosov was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the hammer throw.Krivonosov graduated from the Byelorussian Institute for Physical Culture in 1953. He trained at Burevestnik in Minsk and competed internationally for the USSR throughout his career...

 improved it to 63.34 m. For his second world record Strandli was selected Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year for a second time in 1953. He later set a personal best mark of 63.88 metres, in October 1962 in Trondheim, but at that point Harold Connolly

Harold Vincent Connolly

Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. During the course of his career, Connolly became the first American to throw more than 200 feet...

had improved the world record to 70.67 metres.