Olaf Tufte, two-time Olympic gold medalist for Norway, dead at 50

Olaf Tufte, an Olympic rower who competed in seven Olympic Games for Norway, has died, his family said Tuesday. He was 50.

Tufte competed at his first Olympics in 1996 when the Games were held in Atlanta. He first competed in the men’s coxless four before he moved into single and double sculls – where he found most of his success on the world stage.

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Bronze medalists Kjetil Borch and Olaf Tufte of Norway celebrate after the men’s double sculls final at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 11, 2016. (REUTERS)

He won gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in single sculls. He took home a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in double sculls and a bronze in 2016 in double sculls. He made a seventh Olympic appearance in 2021 when the Games were held in Tokyo.

Tufte was found unconscious at his family farm on Monday, Reuters reported, citing a statement in Norwegian media.

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Olaf Tufte of Norway competes in the final of the men’s single sculls at the 2006 Rowing World Cup on Lake Rotsee outside Lucerne, Switzerland, on July 9, 2006. Tufte won the race ahead of New Zealand’s Mahe Drysdale, and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic finished third. (REUTERS)

“Medical personnel arrived quickly at the scene and ​life-saving first aid was initiated ​before ⁠Tufte was airlifted to hospital for further treatment,” the statement said.

“There were no ⁠witnesses ​to the incident and ​no suspicion of a workplace accident.”

German Olympic star Jason Osborne was among those who reacted to word of Tufte’s death.

“I remember watching you as a kid and winning in Beijing,” he said, via Olympics.com. “This was my motivation to start my rowing career! You were and will always be a true inspiration! R.I.P champion.”

Norway’s Olaf Tufte competes in the men’s single sculls quarter-final at the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia, on Aug. 31, 2011. (REUTERS)

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Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told Norwegian media that the decorated rower “brought enormous athletic joy to us as a nation.”