Bernhoff Hansen
Norwegian wrestler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernhoff Otelius Hansen (August 17, 1877 – December 22, 1950) was a Norwegian-American wrestler who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.[1]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bernhoff Otelius Hansen | ||||||||||||||
| Born | August 17, 1877 Rognan, Norway | ||||||||||||||
| Died | December 22, 1950 (aged 73) New York, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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He was born in Rognan in Saltdal Municipality, Norway. Originally, he was a wrestler in Nordland, but one and a half years before the 1904 Olympic Games, he left Norway for the United States. He was affiliated with the Brooklyn-based 'Norwegian Turnverein' gymnastic society in New York. Hansen was sponsored by the 'Norwegian Turnverein' at the Olympics in 1904. He won three matches, all by falls, at the 1904 Olympics and the gold medal in the freestyle heavyweight category.[2] The Olympic tournament doubled as the AAU tournament. In 1905, he defended his AAU title for his only other U.S. championship.[3]
His first name was spelled "Bernhoff" by FILA and in an article by The New York Times from January 16, 1918. By the time of the article, he was referred to as a "Norwegian light-heavyweight wrestler". Hansen died in New York City at the age of 73.
In 2012, Norwegian historians found documentation showing that Hansen was registered as an "alien" (foreigner) as late as 1925 and questioning whether he ever received American citizenship. The historians thus petitioned to have Hansen's gold registered as Norwegian.[4]
