Norway mourns Tufte, two-time Olympic sculling champion, at 50

Norway mourns Tufte, two-time Olympic sculling champion, at 50

Olaf Tufte, the Norwegian rower who won Olympic gold in single sculls at the 2004 Athens Games and again at the 2008 Beijing Games, has died at the age of 50, his family announced Tuesday. Tufte was found unconscious at his family farm on Monday and was airlifted to hospital after life-saving first aid was administered at the scene, according to a statement carried by Norwegian media. No witnesses were present and no suspicion of a workplace accident was raised.

Tufte’s Olympic career spanned three decades and seven Games, beginning in Atlanta in 1996, where he competed in the men’s coxless four. He later moved into sculling events, the discipline in which he built his international reputation. In addition to his two gold medals, he claimed a silver in double sculls at the 2000 Sydney Games and a bronze in the same event at the 2016 Rio Games alongside Kjetil Borch. His final Olympic appearance came at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Tufte had brought “enormous athletic joy” to the country, according to Norwegian media. German rower Jason Osborne, citing Tufte’s 2008 Beijing victory as the inspiration for his own career, paid tribute through the Olympics website. Tufte competed at a span of Games that covered five host cities across four continents, a measure of a career that endured well beyond the peak years typical of Olympic athletes.

Norwegian sports authorities had not announced formal memorial arrangements as of Tuesday. The circumstances of Tufte’s collapse remain under investigation, with no cause of death confirmed.