Håvard Lorentzen

Club / Team	Fana IL: Bergen, NOR
Reason for choosing this sport	"I started cycling at age eight. There was this guy in Bergen [in Norway], where I am from, who did speed skating in the winter and cycling in the summer. My brother and I started to do that as well. And then from age 13 I only trained in speed skating. Before that I did some skating on hockey skates with the family, but initially I was a cyclist."

Hero / Idol

Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi. (Athlete, 24 Nov 2018)

Name of coach	Jeremy Wotherspoon [national], CAN
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began skating in 1999 in Bergen, Norway.

Memorable sporting achievement

Winning gold in the 500m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Skating ISU YouTube channel, 03 Apr 2020)

www.facebook.com/havard.lorentzen

Hobbies	Playing the guitar, reading, playing video games. (isu.org, 12 Nov 2020)
Famous relatives	His partner Hege Bokko has represented Norway in speed skating, competing at the Olympic Winter Games in 2010, 2014, and 2018. His younger brother Hakon has played professional football in the Norwegian second tier for Asane Fotball. (aftenposten.no, 26 Sep 2021; transfermarkt.com, 07 Mar 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 26 Nov 2018; vg.no, 07 Sep 2018; isu.org, 03 Mar 2017)

twitter.com/hoawi

Injuries	He was affected by a back problem during the 2021/22 season. (aftenposten.no, 11 Feb 2022) He was affected by a hip injury during the 2019/20 season. (aftenposten.no, 03 Jun 2020) He suffered a hand injury in October 2017 after falling off his bike during a training session. (ba.no, 06 Oct 2017, 05 Oct 2017) In October 2015 he fell and suffered a severe cut to his calf that required a skin graft in Inzell, Germany. He returned to action in January 2016. (Skating ISU YouTube channel, 03 Apr 2020; Athlete, 24 Nov 2018; isu.org, 03 Mar 2017)
Other sports	He was a Norwegian cycling champion as a junior. (isu.org, 02 Mar 2018)
Nicknames	Lorre (isu.org, 23 Feb 2018)
Awards and honours	In May 2018 he was presented with the Oscar Mathisen Trophy for his gold medal performance in the 500m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The trophy is presented annually to the skater that delivers the most exceptional performance. (schaatsen.nl, 23 May 2018)
Most influential person in career	His father. (Athlete, 24 Nov 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Have fun and try to skate better." (Athlete, 24 Nov 2018)
Milestones	His victory in the 500m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang was Norway's first Olympic gold medal in speed skating since 1998, when Adne Sondral won the 1500m in Nagano. He also became the first Norwegian speed skater to claim the 500m Olympic title in 70 years. (SportsDeskOnline, 26 Nov 2018; aftenposten.no, 19 Feb 2018)
Other information	OFF-SEASON TRAINING He did not train with the Norwegian national team during the off-season in 2022 as he wanted to spend more time with his newborn daughter Emilie. He rejoined the team at the beginning of the 2022/23 competition season. "I don't want to suddenly see that she has turned three years old. I want to be involved in her upbringing. I could possibly not have been selected for the national team [if he was not allowed to arrange a personal off season training]. But it can be nice to do something different. I have been able to set up the training as it suits us. I can tell my body has benefited from travelling less. When we have been on training camps, we usually travel on rest days. Being at airports and sitting on planes is not really rest." (aftenposten.no, 13 Sep 2022; aftenposten.no, 18 Feb 2022; bt.no, 18 Feb 2022)