| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | Single Sculls | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 6:59.83 |
| 1 | Single Sculls | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 6:49.30 |
| 2 | Double Sculls | 2000 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | 6:17.98 |
| 8 | Four | 1996 | Atlanta, GA, USA | |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | Single Sculls | 2003 | Milan, ITA | 6:46.15 |
| 1 | Single Sculls | 2001 | Lucerne, SUI | 6:43.04 |
| 2 | Single Sculls | 2005 | Gifu, JPN | 7:18.34 |
| 3 | Single Sculls | 2007 | Munich, GER | 6:47.58 |
| 3 | Single Sculls | 2002 | Seville, ESP | 6:39.45 |
| 3 | Double Sculls | 1999 | St. Catharines, ON, CAN | 6:06.20 |
| 4 | Single Sculls | 2010 | Hamilton, NZL | 6:55.68 |
| 6 | Single Sculls | 2011 | Bled, SLO | 6:55.25 |
| 6 | Single Sculls | 2009 | Poznan, POL | 7:02.82 |
| World Cup | ||||
| 2 | Single Sculls | 2009 | Lucerne, SUI | 6:53.33 |
| 2 | Single Sculls | 2009 | Banyoles, ESP | 7:07.80 |
| 3 | Single Sculls | 2010 | Munich, GER | 7:05.88 |
| 3 | Single Sculls | 2009 | Munich, GER | 7:05.82 |
Nickname
The Farmer. (g4s.com, 01 Apr 2009)
Hobbies
Spending time on his farm, motocross, relaxing with friends, cross country skiing, beach volleyball. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Occupation
Farmer, Firefighter
Family
Wife Aina, two children
Language(s) spoken
Norwegian, English
Club name
Horten RK, Horten, NOR
Coach
Carsten Hassing (aftenposten.no, 17 Jun 2011)
Sporting relatives
He competed in motocross between 1990-1994 and participates in cross country skiing as long as it does not affect his rowing schedule. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000, worldrowing.com, 18 Jan 2010)
Injuries
He and his family were struck down with a streptococcal infection in the 2010-11 European winter. (aftenposten.no, 17 Jun 2011)
He says he suffered from injuries in the years between the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. (worldrowing.com, 01 Dec 2010)
He has suffered from lower back and knee troubles. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started rowing at age 14. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Reason for taking up this sport
His coach encouraged him to give the sport a try. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Ambitions
"To develop myself and keep top youngsters coming through to the top of Norwegian rowing." (rowingworld.com, 31 Jan 2011)
To win a third [and consecutive] Olympic gold medal at London 2012. (tv2.no, 17 Nov 2011)
Training
He trains every day from one to eight hours. "A day without exercise is a day without meaning. The easiest thing in the world is to sit back on the sofa and put off training to the next day. It is a familiar feeling for many amateur athletes, and a feeling I also get as a top athlete. However, there is nothing so good as to man up and train on those hard days. That feeling you get after your workout, when you're standing in the shower, is priceless," he says, adding that 80% of his regime is focused on cardio exercises.
During Norway's long, cold and dark winter he skis cross country to stay in shape. (tv2.no, 17 Nov 2011; NBC Olympics, 16 Jun 2004)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Given he had to overcome problems with asthma and various injuries, he rates winning gold in the single sculls at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as his greatest achievement. (worldrowing.com, 22 Jan 2010)
Hero
Cross country skier Bjorn Daehlie and canoe flatwater paddler Knut Holman. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Most influential person in career
His family and coaches. (Athlete, 21 Feb 2000)
Superstitions / Rituals
An hour before a race he likes to go through his plan for the race in his head. (worldrowing.com, 18 Jan 2010)
He always listens to music during training, and is a big fan of AC/DC. (tv2.no, 17 Nov 2011)
Awards
He finished as the number one ranked male rower of the year for both 2009 and 2010. (rowingworld.com, 28 Jan 2011)
2001 Sports Journalists' Sportsman of the Year award in Norway. (sonneravnorge.no, 17 Aug 2011)
General
FARM LIFE
He runs a cereal farm and organises the annual Tufte Farmer Challenge where some of Norway's top athletes compete in rural-style events including tractor tyre flipping, axe throwing, car pulling and shotgun shooting. Part of his day job consists of chopping wood that is too big to be done by machine. "People don't believe me [when I tell them about my job] but I really do. It's good work, it's good training and keeps my head some place else. When you're done after a couple of hours you're just dying." (rowingworld.com, 31 Jan 2011; rowingone.com, 22 Jan 2010)
FRIENDSHIP
He is good friends with Slovenian rower Iztok Cop. The pair were ranked as the top two rowers in the world in 2010 but despite their fierce rivalry on the water have remained friends off it. Cop has commented "We're healthy rivals on the water. Off the water we got along very well. This is the main reason I keep going in the sport. . We can't avoid talking about rowing. Even if we try to change the subject it only lasts a minute or two and then it's back to rowing." (worldrowing.com, 04 Aug 2009)
ASTHMA CAMPAIGNER
He has suffered from asthma throughout his life and takes part in a 'Active with Asthma' campaign in Norway to show school children that asthma is not a barrier to accessing sport. "I have struggled with asthma and allergies so it is important for me to be able to help children and young people who have also struggled to see that anything is possible," he says. (noblad.no, 24 May 2011)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004, Sydney 2000, Atlanta 1996
