Jan Gulbrandsen

Who is Jan Gulbrandsen?

Jan Gulbrandsen was a Norwegian hurdler, politician and sports official.

His main event was the 400 metres hurdles. He became Norwegian champion in the event from 1957 through 1964, and won a silver medal in 1965. He held the Norwegian record between 1958 and 1960, with 51.5 as the best time, achieved in 1964. His best electronic time was 52.40 seconds. He competed in 400 metres hurdles at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, but was knocked out in the semi-final. At both the 1958 and 1962 European Championships he was knocked out in the heats.

In the 110 metres hurdles he became Norwegian champion in 1960, 1961 and 1962 before the rivals Weum/Fimland started their more-than-decade-long dominance. Gulbrandsen also won national silver medals in 110 metres hurdles in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1963 and 1964. His personal best time was 14.5 seconds, achieved in 1962. In the sprint/running distances he had 22.5 in the 200 metres, 49.1 in the 400 metres and 1:51.9 in the 800 metres. He also had 6.81 metres in the long jump and 14.29 in the triple jump. With these diverse abilities he also became Norwegian pentathlon and decathlon champion in 1959.