Lillehammer memories, continued

Sunday morning arrived, the weather in Lillehammer was still extremely nice, and in a few hours Johann Olav Koss would try to win his third Olympic gold medal at Hamar. I had tried to get tickets, but they were impossible to get hold of. But I had heard rumours that they had put up a large tent, with a large TV-screen, just outside Vikingskipet. Well, being at Hamar watching Koss on a large TV-screen together with hundreds of Norwegians, was the best alternative when I couldn't get tickets, so I bought myself a train ticket and went to Hamar.

The atmosphere in the tent was great, and when Koss started his race against Frank Dittrich in the 5th pair I could not imagine any better place to be. The roars from the audience rivaled those from the venue just across the street. For each lap the race became more and more magnificent. Could he actually do 13.30? The newspapers had been talking about a "magical" time - 13.32.6 - 3 minutes faster than Hjalmar "Hjallis" Andersen did at Hamar one week before the Olympic Games 42 years ago.

We all know what happened. Some of you who read might even have been there. Koss did 13.30.55 and lowered his own World Record by 12.99 seconds. 3 pairs later his apprentice, Kjell Storelid, did 13.49.25 to secure a Norwegian double. It was a great day at Hamar, even without tickets ...