Ansten Samuelstuen was born on May 7, 1929 as the son of Peter and Laura (née Sæther) Samuelstuen in the municipality of Ringsaker , in Tettsted Brøttum . He started ski jumping at the age of eleven, around 1940. After finishing school, he became a soldier in the Norwegian Air Force in 1949 . After Samuelstuen was stationed at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne (Wyoming) in 1950–1951 , he emigrated from his native Norway to the United States in 1954 and became a US citizen in 1957. In the same year he was American ski jumping champion , also in 1961 and 1962. He also won the title of North American ski jumping champion four times (1954, 1955, 1957 and 1964). At the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 1956, Samuelstuen achieved fifth place. When he took part in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley , Samuelstuen was seventh on the large hill. He ended his sporting career in 1965 and trained the ski jumping team in Denver from then on. For private enjoyment, Samuelstuen still practiced ski jumping occasionally after his career ended. His personal best of 316 ft (about 96.3 m) on Howelson Hill in Steamboat Springs also set a national and North American record. In 1962 he presented with 262 ft (about 79.9 m) a Canadian distance record in Revelstoke ( British Columbia ) and becoming the first person who is simultaneously the Canadian and American distance record held.
In addition to his athletic career, Samuelstuen studied at the University of Denver . He later worked at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp in Colorado and New Mexico until his retirement in 1994 . In 2009 he was inducted into the United States Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Samuelstuen died on August 18, 2012 at the age of 83 in Greeley , Colorado.
literature
Arne Thoresen: Lengst gjennom lufta. Versal Forlag, Oslo 2007, ISBN 978-82-8188-030-6 , pp. 334-341.
United States
