Per Mathiesen
Norwegian artistic gymnast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Per Anton Mathiesen (11 March 1885 – 2 June 1961) was a Norwegian gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Norwegian team, which won the gold medal in the men's gymnastics team, free system event.[1]
| Per Mathiesen | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Per Anton Mathiesen | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 March 1885 Kragerø, United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 June 1961 (aged 76) Sarpsborg, Norway | ||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Norway | ||||||||||||||
| Gym | Bergens TF | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Background
Per Anton Mathiesen was born on 11 March 1885 in Kragerø, Telemark, Norway, then part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.[2] Mathiesen was the son of Niels Nielsen Mathiesen, born in 1851 and working as a merchant (kjøbmand) specializing in manufactured goods, and Margrete Mathiesen (née Andersen), born in 1858.[2] Their family resided in the Hovedbyen district of Kragerø, in a middle-class socioeconomic position including domestic servants and boarders, owing to the father's successful trade business.[2] He had a sister named Elisabeth Anette Mathiesen, born in 1883.[2] Kragerø was a coastal trading town established in 1666, providing a maritime-based township for early family life, with its economy centered on shipping, timber, and the emerging ice export industry by the late 19th century.[3]
Early Interests
Norwegian schools in the late 19th century integrated gymnastics as a core part of physical education, drawing from the Scandinavian tradition of structured exercise to promote health, discipline, and national fitness. Following the 1889 Education Act, the system was established, mandating daily physical activity in primary schools, often with apparatus work, marching drills, and calisthenics to build strength and coordination among students aged 7 to 14.[4]
Career
Per Mathiesen's entry into organized gymnastics occurred through his affiliation with Bergens Turnforening (Bergens TF), a prominent club in Bergen, Norway, founded in 1882, where he trained primarily during the early 1990s.[5] The club emphasized artistic gymnastics and served as a foundational hub for regional talent development, drawing members from local communities to participate in structured physical education and competitive preparation. Mathiesen is believed to have joined as a young adult amid Norway's growing gymnastics movement.[5]
Bergens TF played a pivotal role in Mathiesen's development, as evidenced by the club's contribution of 10 members to the 24-member 1912 Olympic squad, including Mathiesen, Nils Opdahl, and Robert Sjursen.[6][7] Regional tournaments and club exhibitions in Bergen during the 1900s honed skills through competitive formats that mirrored Olympic events, such as team free exercises, while fostering camaraderie essential for large-scale performances.
Olympic Participation
The Norwegian Olympic Committee handled team selection for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in coordination with the national gymnastics federation, Norges Gymnastikk og Idrætsforbund, which submitted the official entries to the Swedish Olympic Committee as required by the Games' regulations. These entries included detailed information on each athlete's name, birth date, nationality, and amateur status, with a minimum age of 17 years, ensuring compliance with international standards.[6]
In the lead-up to the games, the Norwegian team engaged in intensive training camps within Norway, focusing on adapting to the novel "free system" format of the team all-around event, which allowed greater flexibility in routines compared to the more rigid Swedish and European systems. These preparations emphasized collective exercises and apparatus work to align with the Olympic program's demands. Logistical challenges included coordinating travel from ports like Oslo to Stockholm via ferry and rail, a journey of approximately 500 kilometers that was relatively straightforward due to neighboring countries' infrastructure, though it required careful planning for a large contingent of over 80 Norwegian athletes overall.[5][6]
Achievements
Mathiesen gained recognition in Norway's gymnastic community through his affiliation with Bergens Turnforening (Bergens TF), a prominent club in Bergen where he specialized in free system gymnastics, a discipline emphasizing coordinated team exercises and rhythmic movements.[1] His skills earned him a spot on the Norwegian national gymnastics squad by Norges Turn- og Idrætsforbund, the governing body for the sport at the time, positioning him among the country's top performers in the years leading up to 1912.[6] This reflected his contributions to regional and club-level team events, which focused on collective precision and apparatus work.
Later Life
After the 1912 summer Olympics, Per Mathiesen transitioned from competitive gymnastics to a career in pharmacy, using his qualifications as a certified pharmacist obtained in 1909. By 1930, he was associated with Sannesund Apotek in the Sarpsborg area, as recorded in official state listings, marking his establishment in the profession post-athletics.[8] Mathiesen continued to manage Sannesund Apotek through the 1930s and 1940s in Borge, a locality near Sarpsborg in Østfold county. In 1954, as a former pharmacist, he submitted an application to the Norwegian Storting seeking equity compensation for income losses resulting from the temporary closure of the pharmacy, highlighting challenges faced in his professional life during that period.[8][9]
Mathiesen died on 2 June 1961 in Sarpsborg, Norway, at the age of 76.[1] Mathiesen's legacy endures as a key member of the Norwegian gymnastics team that achieved remarkable success at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, contributing to Norway's dominance in the sport during that era. The Norwegian squad, including Mathiesen, secured the gold medal in the team all-around, showing the effectiveness of the Norwegian gymnastics system and making a high point in the nation's early Olympic history.[1]
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