9 mins ago Jul 23, 2026HTBS

Olaf Tufte Dead At 50

Olaf Tufte 1976- 2026. Row360 called him “a towering presence in rowing” and one who “left a mark far beyond the podium.”
Picture: Row360/Instagram.

23 July 2026

By Tim Koch

Olaf Tufte, the legendary Norwegian sculler who was a seven-time Olympian and twice Olympic Champion and twice World Champion in the single, has died suddenly aged 50. On 20 July, Tufte was found unconscious at his farm and was taken to hospital. He was officially declared dead the following day. He had been active on social media just three days before.

Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: Tufte brought immense joy through sport to us as a nation. He was one of Norway’s greatest sporting heroes, a decorated Summer Olympian, one of the finest rowers we have ever had, and a great role model to many.

First selected aged 20 for the Norwegian men’s coxless four for Atlanta 1996, Tufte’s last Olympic appearance was aged 45 in a quad for Tokyo 2020. He is pictured here in 2004 in Athens after winning his first Olympic Gold. Picture: Instagram.
Tufte’s international record. In the single, he won back-to-back titles at Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008. In double sculls, he took silver in Sydney in 2000 and bronze in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. Graphic: Wikipedia.
Alongside rowing at the highest level, Tufte ran the family farm, worked as a volunteer firefighter, and built businesses including a concrete company, the clothing brand Tufte Wear and a brewery. He once said: “I’m not made for resting. I need to do other stuff otherwise I get bored”. Picture: @tufteolaf.
World Rowing, the sport’s international governing body, said of Tufte: “A fierce competitor on the water, a great friend to everyone off of it…He closed out his competitive career at the Tokyo Olympics at age 45, rowing in the men’s quadruple sculls alongside teammates young enough to have been born after his own Olympic debut… The veteran mentor, still on the water, still leading by example.” Picture: World Rowing.
Tufte’s 2022 Instagram post after receiving rowing’s highest honour from World Rowing, the Thomas Keller Medal, reveals how he felt about the sport. In his acceptance speech he said, “I have two families, I have the Tufte family, but my biggest family is the rowing family. And as I say ‘If you pull on an oar you’re a rower and you’re part of my family’. Rowing is the reason I became the person I am.”

In early 2012, I had my own brief but memorable interaction with Olaf. A popular Norwegian television programme was traveling around Europe filming various light hearted challenges involving the two presenters of the show. In London they decided on a quad race on the Thames between a crew of young master rowers from Auriol Kensington and a boat made up of the two presenters (neither could scull and one had a broken arm) and two Norwegian internationals, including Olaf. The result is on YouTube.

Olaf, who was hoping to be the 2012 Olympic sculling champion, pictured at Auriol Kensington RC under a portrait of the 1912 Olympic sculling champion, Wally Kinnear of Kensington RC.

I took the opportunity to interview Olaf. At the time he was training for London 2012, trying to be the third sculler who has won three back-to-back Olympic singles titles, the others being Vyacheslav Ivanov and Pertti Karppinen.

Tim: You won the Olympic title for a second time in Beijing 2008 despite not winning much in the preceding years. Will it be the same in 2012?

Olaf: True, I have not won much since Beijing. I think the reason for that is that I have been doing a lot of other stuff outside of rowing…. But in the approach to the Olympics…… I have cleared away anything that takes away my energy…. I am focusing more and more on the rowing and everything that comes with it, I am not known for resting….. I think that I am doing some good things now and I have an OK plan but in the end we will see if it is good enough.

Tim: After winning two Olympic titles, what keeps you motivated?

Olaf: You can always be a little bit better, you can always hear the boat sing a little bit more, a little bit longer….. What keeps me in rowing is that it is a big happy family and the best thing I know is to compete against my good friends…… The one who is going to win in London will be better than the one who won in Beijing and Athens and so on… So as long as you think that you can be better than you were, that is the motivation.

Tim: Can you win a third Olympic title? (Olaf fixed me with a steely gaze. I felt a little nervous…)

Olaf: If I thought that I couldn’t, I would not be here.

After retiring from competing, Tufte became a coach for the Norwegian Paralympic Rowing Team.

Olaf Karl Tufte, born 27 April 1976, died 21 July 2026. He is survived by his wife Aina and two children.

Hvil i fred.

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