24 July 2026

By Göran R Buckhorn and Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik,
photography Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik

With the passing of the Olympic champion Olaf Tufte, the saying “big shoes to fill” will now have to be redefined, Eystein Hoddevik, a neighbour of the sculling legend, writes.

Yesterday evening, Horten Roklubb, in the coastal town of Horten on the western shore of Oslofjord, south of Oslo, held a ceremony in memory of the club’s legendary member, the sculling star Olaf Tufte, who sadly passed away on 21 July at age 50. The celebration was open to everyone to attend, not just club members.

One of the attendees was Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik, who is not a rower but has a summer house down the road from Tufte’s farm. Hoddevik and his family wanted to honour Tufte, whose fame is reached far outside the rowing community in Norway and beyond.

Eystein Hoddevik wrote to HTBS:

It was a very touching evening. The boat he was rowing of late was set out for everyone to see, with the logo of his “Team Tufte” clearly visible.

The club had originally planned on having a one-minute of silence, to his honour. But they quite rightly opted for a one-minute of applause instead.

Speeches were held, and one of the speakers said that it was at Horten Roklubb Olaf first sat in a rowing boat at age 17 when he was asked to fill a vacant seat in a quadruple scull. Olaf had a back injury at the time, due to an injury from motor sport, which he was competing in at the time. His doctor had told him that rowing might help in his recovery, and the rest is history.

Club members took to the oars and well out on the water, all rowers held up a rose to Olaf’s honour, let the flowers fall onto the sea, and then collectively started rowing outwards in the fjord.

This was an event which left no eye dry.

Hoddevik continued:

This summer, Norway has been rowing forwards in unison, reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Football. But the 21st of July made us “back the oars” as Olaf Tufte was ripped from life far too early.

Just a few days earlier, he had appeared on national television, seated firmly on a rowing machine as only an Olympic champion could, gently and charismatically instructing the entire nation on how to improve their strokes.

I am truly saddened by the loss of this great athlete, who was clearly a very decent man. He has left marks that will live on for generations.

Here at HTBS we can only agree!

R.I.P. Olaf Tufte.