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Iceland and the
The first Olympics were held in 776 BC. The Olympics
were held every four years for a long time before they were
banned in 393 AD. These Olympics were nothing like the
ones held today. The modern Olympics as we know them
have been held since 1896. Iceland has been competing at
the summer Olympics since 1908 and since 1948 at the
winter Olympics. The Olympics are one of the greatest
competitions in which an athlete can participate. It is a
great honour to participate in the Olympics. So far Iceland
has won four medals in the Olympics. Below you can read
about the people who won these medals.
1956, Melbourne, Australia
Iceland won its first Olympic medal in 1956. Vilhjálmur Einarsson
(born in 1934) broke an Olympic record in triple jump. He jumped
16.26 metres. The record did not last long and later in the competition
a Brazilian broke the same record, so Vilhjálmur was awarded the
silver medal. Vilhjálmur was voted the first athlete of the year in
Iceland in 1956, and again in 1957, 1958, 1960 and 1961.
1984, Los Angeles, USA
Bjarni Ásgeir Friðriksson (born in 1956) competed for Iceland in judo
(under 95 kg) and won a bronze medal. There were 24 competitors.
He beat the American competitor in the third round, qualifying for
the semi-finals where he lost against a Brazilian competitor. Bjarni
competed for third place against an Italian and won. He was voted
athlete of the year in Iceland in 1990.
