Peter Sinnerud

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Peter Sinnerud (1876–1972) was a Norwegian speed skater from Hamar. At the 1895 World Allround Championships in Hamar, he won the silver medal and set a 10,000-meter world record of 18 minutes 50.0 seconds, though later that day Jaap Eden broke the record.

He spent about 15 years skating in North America, winning six titles in the United States and Canada. In 1904 he returned to Norway for the world and national championships and won both, but was later stripped of the titles because he competed in professional races in the U.S. It is unclear whether he was paid. He then went back to the U.S. to skate professionally for several years, achieving podium finishes but no major wins. In the U.S. he was often called “The Terrible Swede” in newspapers, due to his speed and the Sweden–Norway union.

In 1910 he returned to Norway for good, worked as a farmer near Hamar, and turned his home into a training center, becoming Norway’s first speed skating coach. His students included Jan Langedijk, Klaas Schenk, Kees Broekman, Michael Staksrud, Reidar Liaklev, and Hans Engnestangen. He was married to Astrid Margaretha Fjetre. He closed the training center in 1956 after the sudden death of his son Arve at age 43. His grandson Sven Peter Sinnerud later worked at the Vikingskipet arena, preparing ice for championships there since 1994.