Beginning in 1959 the Oscar Mathisen Award (also known as the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Award, the Oscar Mathisen Memorial Trophy, and sometimes the Skating Oscar) has been awarded annually to the skater with the most outstanding speed skating performance of the season. The award was introduced by Oslo Skøiteklub (Oslo Skating Club, OSK) to commemorate the legendary Norwegian speed skater Oscar Mathisen (1888–1954). The winner is awarded a miniature of the statue of Oscar Mathisen created by the sculptor Arne Durban. The statue is placed outside Frogner Stadium in Oslo, the venue of many of Oscar Mathisen's most memorable victories.

For the first eight years (1959–1966) no repeat winners were allowed, and women were not eligible to win until 1987. Since its inception in 1959 it has been awarded 66 times to 50 skaters (41 men and 9 women) from 10 countries. Eric Heiden from the United States holds the record for most awards (4 times in 1977–1980) while Gunda Niemann from Germany is the only woman who received this award more than once (3 times in 1995–1997).

Oscar Mathisen Award winners

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Year Winner Country
1959 Knut Johannesen   Norway
1960 Boris Stenin   Soviet Union
1961 Henk van der Grift   Netherlands
1962 Jonny Nilsson   Sweden
1963 Nils Aaness   Norway
1964 Ants Antson   Soviet Union
1965 Per Ivar Moe   Norway
1966 Kees Verkerk   Netherlands
1967 Kees Verkerk   Netherlands
1968 Fred Anton Maier   Norway
1969 Dag Fornæss   Norway
1970 Ard Schenk   Netherlands
1971 Ard Schenk   Netherlands
1972 Ard Schenk   Netherlands
1973 Göran Claeson   Sweden
1974 Sten Stensen   Norway
1975 Yevgeny Kulikov   Soviet Union
1976 Sten Stensen   Norway
1977 Eric Heiden   United States
1978 Eric Heiden   United States
1979 Eric Heiden   United States
1980 Eric Heiden   United States
1981 Amund Sjøbrend   Norway
1982 Tomas Gustafson   Sweden
1983 Rolf Falk-Larssen   Norway
1984 Gaétan Boucher   Canada
1985 Hein Vergeer   Netherlands
1986 Geir Karlstad   Norway
1987 Nikolay Gulyayev   Soviet Union
1988 Tomas Gustafson   Sweden
1989 Leo Visser   Netherlands
1990 Johann Olav Koss   Norway
1991 Johann Olav Koss   Norway
1992 Bonnie Blair   United States
1993 Falko Zandstra   Netherlands
1994 Johann Olav Koss   Norway
1995 Gunda Niemann   Germany
1996 Gunda Niemann   Germany
1997 Gunda Niemann   Germany
1998 Ådne Søndrål   Norway
1999 Rintje Ritsma   Netherlands
2000 Gianni Romme   Netherlands
2001 Hiroyasu Shimizu   Japan
2002 Jochem Uytdehaage   Netherlands
2003 Anni Friesinger   Germany
2004 Chad Hedrick   United States
2005 Shani Davis   United States
2006 Cindy Klassen[1]   Canada
2007 Sven Kramer[2]   Netherlands
2008 Jeremy Wotherspoon   Canada
2009 Shani Davis[3]   United States
2010 Martina Sáblíková[4]   Czech Republic
2011 Bob de Jong[5]   Netherlands
2012 Christine Nesbitt[6]   Canada
2013 Ireen Wüst   Netherlands
2014 Jorrit Bergsma   Netherlands
2015 Brittany Bowe[7]   United States
2016 Ted-Jan Bloemen   Canada
2017 Sven Kramer   Netherlands
2018 Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen   Norway
2019 Kjeld Nuis   Netherlands
2020 Natalya Voronina   Russia
2021 Nils van der Poel   Sweden
2022 Nils van der Poel   Sweden
2023 Jordan Stolz[8]   United States
2024 Jordan Stolz[9]   United States

Number of awards by country

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Awards won Country
18   Netherlands
15   Norway
11   United States
6   Sweden
5   Canada
4   Germany
  Soviet Union
1   Czech Republic
  Japan
  Russia

Number of awards by person

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Awards won Skater Country Year(s)
4 Eric Heiden   United States 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
3 Johann Olav Koss   Norway 1990, 1991, 1994
Gunda Niemann   Germany 1995, 1996, 1997
Ard Schenk   Netherlands 1970, 1971, 1972
2 Shani Davis   United States 2005, 2009
Tomas Gustafson   Sweden 1982, 1988
Sven Kramer   Netherlands 2007, 2017
Sten Stensen   Norway 1974, 1976
Jordan Stolz   United States 2023, 2024
Nils van der Poel   Sweden 2021, 2022
Kees Verkerk   Netherlands 1966, 1967
1 Nils Aaness   Norway 1963
Ants Antson   Soviet Union 1964
Jorrit Bergsma   Netherlands 2014
Bonnie Blair   United States 1992
Ted-Jan Bloemen   Canada 2016
Gaétan Boucher   Canada 1984
Brittany Bowe   United States 2015
Göran Claeson   Sweden 1973
Bob de Jong   Netherlands 2011
Rolf Falk-Larssen   Norway 1983
Dag Fornæss   Norway 1969
Anni Friesinger   Germany 2003
Nikolay Gulyayev   Soviet Union 1987
Chad Hedrick   United States 2004
Knut Johannesen   Norway 1959
Geir Karlstad   Norway 1986
Cindy Klassen   Canada 2006
Yevgeny Kulikov   Soviet Union 1975
Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen   Norway 2018
Fred Anton Maier   Norway 1968
Per Ivar Moe   Norway 1965
Christine Nesbitt   Canada 2012
Jonny Nilsson   Sweden 1962
Kjeld Nuis   Netherlands 2019
Rintje Ritsma   Netherlands 1999
Gianni Romme   Canada 2000
Martina Sáblíková   Czech Republic 2010
Hiroyasu Shimizu   Japan 2001
Amund Sjøbrend   Norway 1981
Ådne Søndrål   Norway 1998
Boris Stenin   Soviet Union 1960
Jochem Uytdehaage   Netherlands 2002
Henk van der Grift   Netherlands 1961
Hein Vergeer   Netherlands 1985
Leo Visser   Netherlands 1989
Natalya Voronina   Russia 2020
Jeremy Wotherspoon   Canada 2008
Ireen Wüst   Netherlands 2013
Falko Zandstra   Netherlands 1993

References

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  1. ^ "Skøytesport". www.skoytesport.no. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Skøytesport". www.skoytesport.no. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Skøytesport". www.skoytesport.no. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  4. ^ http://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/article1364737.ece/Sablikova_krijgt_eervolle_prijs. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ "De Jong krijgt 'schaatsoscar'". nos.nl. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Nesbitt - winner of the 2012 Oscar Award | Speed Skating Canada". Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  7. ^ "Brittany Bowe wins the 2015 Oscar Award". US Speedskating. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  8. ^ Steffes, Judy (4 December 2023). "Jordan Stolz of Kewaskum, WI wins prestigious Oscar Mathisen Award". Washington County Insider. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Oscar Mathisen-trofee weer voor Jordan Stolz" [Oscar Mathisen trophy again for Jordan Stolz]. schaatsen.nl (in Dutch). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.