Sailing was a lifelong passion for King Olav V of Norway (1903 - 1991). Here you can see Norway´s future "sailor king" (Olav was King of Norway in 1957 - 1991) in action in 1936 on his Six Metre yacht Norna IV, designed by Johan Anker.
Already in 1926 Crown Prince Olav told the AP news agency about his "intensive love of the sea". He said he would have "elected the sea for his career had he been free to make his own choice".
In the Amsterdam Summer Olympic Games in 1928 Olav won the gold medal as a crew member in the 6-metre class with his first Norna, also designed and skippered by Anker. Olav did not compete in other Olympic games, but participated in other regattas through most of his life. In 1971 the King finished fourth in the World 5.5 Metre Championships.
In 2005 King Olav V was voted "the Norwegian of the Century" in a poll carried out by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
My restoration and colorization of Anders B. Wilse´s image in the Norsk Folkemuseum archive.
#zeglarstwo #norwegia #historia
