Two-time Olympic rowing champion Olaf Tufte dies at the age of 50

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Olaf Tufte has died at the age of 50 after being found unconscious at his family farm in Norway.

The decorated rower was transported to a hospital in Oslo before his passing was confirmed by his family on Tuesday.

His remarkable sporting career spanned an astonishing seven consecutive Summer Games, beginning at Atlanta 1996 and concluding at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

A legacy of Olympic dominance

The Norwegian cemented his status as a sporting legend by securing back-to-back gold medals in the single sculls at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.

He also claimed silver in the double sculls at Sydney 2000 and added a bronze medal in the same discipline at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre led the tributes, describing the veteran athlete as one of the nation’s greatest ever sporting heroes.

“Tufte brought immense joy through sport to us as a nation,” Støre said in a statement.

Mentorship and life beyond the water

At his final Games in Tokyo, the 45-year-old competed in the men’s quadruple sculls alongside teammates who were young enough to have been born after his own Olympic debut.

“The veteran mentor, still on the water, still leading by example,” World Rowing noted in their official tribute.

Following his transition away from elite competition, the single sculls specialist moved into coaching and recently guided Birgit Skarstein to a Paralympic silver medal at Paris 2024.

Away from the water, the multifaceted athlete managed a family farm, served as a volunteer firefighter, and established several successful businesses.

“I’m not made for resting,” he famously once remarked. “I need to do other stuff otherwise I get bored.”