Hjalmar Johannessen

Who was Hjalmar Johannessen?

Hjalmar Johannessen was a Norwegian athlete who specialized in the 400 and 800 metres.

At the 1932 Summer Olympics he reached the heats in the 800 metres, where he failed to progress with a time of 1:54.3 minutes, and also the quarterfinal in the 400 metres, where he achieved 49.4 seconds. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he reached the semifinal of the 800 metres, where he clocked in 1:56.0 minutes. He became Norwegian 400 metres champion in 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1935, and 800 metres champion in 1928, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1936 and 1937. He represented the clubs SK Freidig and Oslo TF.

His personal best time was 1:52.1 minutes, achieved in September 1935 in Stockholm. In the 400 metres he had 48.6 seconds, achieved in September 1935 at Bislett stadion.

After retiring he was a sports editor in the newspaper Morgenposten. He died in 1959.