The April Fool Archive

Double-Bladed Skates    (April Fool's Day - 1960)

Norway's Aftenposten newspaper announced that Alv Gjestvang, winner of a bronze medal at the 1956 at the 1956 Winter Olympics, had set a new speed-skating record of 39.5 seconds in the 500 meter race thanks to the use of a new double-bladed model of skate. This two-fold edge was said to allow a more efficient swing technique. A time of 39.5 seconds actually was achieved three years later by Russia's Yevgeny Grishin (without the use of a double-bladed skate).


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