Håvard Bøkko

Reason for choosing this sport	He was inspired by his friends and Norwegian speed skater Adne Sondral, who is from his hometown. "Everyone skated every week when I was young. It was a good group of young skaters early in my career."
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began skating at age four near Hol, Norway. "It is a small village with the prettiest and fastest natural ice rink in the world."

Hobbies	Hunting, fishing, cycling, hiking, spending time in nature. (Instagram profile, 02 Jan 2021; olympiatoppen.no, 02 Feb 2018; Athlete, 14 Nov 2019)
Famous relatives	His younger sister Hege Bokko represented Norway in speed skating at the Olympic Winter Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Oct 2018; hegebokko.com, 17 Dec 2011)
Memorable sporting achievement	Becoming Olympic champion in team pursuit at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, and claiming silver in the big combination at the 2009 World Allround Championships in Hamar, Norway. (aftenposten.no, 26 Feb 2020)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Go hard or go home." (Athlete, 10 Dec 2013)

www.facebook.com/havardbokko
twitter.com/HavardBokko

Most influential person in career	Coach Peter Mueller. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017)
Injuries	He fractured his ankle in 2018. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019) A back injury forced him to withdraw from the 2015 World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada. (bt.no, 13 Nov 2015) A knee injury, first suffered in December 2013, affected his performances in late 2014 and at the start of the 2015/16 season. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017; schaatsen.nl, 15 Sep 2016; vg.no, 13 Feb 2015; dagbladet.no, 17 Oct 2014) From 2007 to 2009 he suffered several shoulder injuries that required surgery. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017)
Nicknames	The Shadow (vg.no, 13 Feb 2015)
Other information	RETIREMENT He announced his retirement from speed skating at the 2020 World Allround Championships in Hamar, Norway. "It was an emotional but very nice and memorable ending to my career during the World Championships in Hamar. The Vikingskipet arena in Hamar is where I have skated the biggest number of rounds. It is where I made my World Cup debut at age 17, where I won my first championship medal in 2006 [European Championships] and where I won two silver medals at the world allround championships [in 2009 and 2013]. It was the perfect end to a long career that I am proud of." (Facebook page, 11 Mar 2020; aftenposten.no, 26 Feb 2020) SEASON BREAK In September 2016 he announced that he was taking a break from competition in 2016/17 due to motivational issues. He returned to the sport for the 2017/18 season. "I hope that my motivation and desire to make it back comes again. I have had enough of two training sessions a day and 200 days a year travelling. Now I want to go home, take a vacation and do something completely different." (schaatsen.nl, 15 Sep 2016, 14 Sep 2016; speedskatingresults.com, 01 Nov 2017)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs	He always puts on his right skate first. (olympiatoppen.no, 02 Feb 2018)