Unni Helland

Helland after receiving the King's Medal of Merit at the 2026 Bislett Games.

Unni Helland, née Fjeldseth (born 26 January 1942) is a Norwegian athletics coach and former long jumper.

Personal life

She hails from Grinder.[1] In September 1960 she married Olympic long-distance runner Thor Helland.[2] They would both dedicate their lives to athletics coaching.[3]

Athletics career

She moved to Oslo and joined the club IL i BUL at the age of 16 in 1958.[3] She won the silver medal in long jump at the 1962 Norwegian Championships.[4] Her lifetime best jump was 5.27 metres, achieved in July 1966 at Bislett stadion.[5] She also took five national titles in relay.[6]

Coaching career

Ending her athletics career in the late 1960s, she took up coaching in IL i BUL.[7] Serving for decades, she earned recognition for her coaching prowess as well a "motherly" demeanor,[3] earning monikers such as "mother of BUL" and "mother of athletics".[6] BUL established itself as of Norway's most prominent clubs; with Helland as coach, in 1980 BUL became the second club to win the Holmenkollstafetten road relay for women, following a five-year victory spell for IL Tyrving.[8] Within elite athletics, Helland has also been co-credited with the discoveries of Norway's 100 metres record holder for both men and women, Ezinne Okparaebo and Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, as well as Folake Akinyemi.[9][10] She was also employed by the Oslo District Association of Athletics for the last 25 years of her professional career.[3]

Helland was given honorary membership of IL i BUL in 1983.[6] In 2008, she was awarded the Ildsjelprisen by Oslo District Association of Sports.[9] Shortly after, she was chosen for the Olympic torch relay in China.[11] In 2009, the Norwegian Athletics Association named her as the national winner of the European Athletics Women's Leadership Awards.[3] In 2024 she received another ildsjel of the year award, this time from the Norwegian Athletics Association.[12] Still coaching at the age of 84, during the 2026 Bislett Games she was decorated with the King's Medal of Merit in silver.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Helland og Jensen halvt glåmdøler". Glåmdalen (in Norwegian). 5 August 1967. p. 9.
  2. ↑ "Bryllup". Nordlandsposten (in Norwegian). 22 September 1960. p. 4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Unni Helland: A life dedicated to athletics" (in Norwegian). European Athletics. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "Høyde uten tilløp/Standing High Jump". Norwegian Athletics. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Lengde/Long jump". Norwegian Athletics. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Mor friidrett!". Friidrett (in Norwegian). No. 1. 2001. pp. 52–55.
  7. ↑ "Unni Helland trener BULs yngste jenter". Glåmdalen (in Norwegian). 12 September 1970. p. 10.
  8. ↑ "BUL-gutta ikke til å stoppe... - ikke jentene heller". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 12 May 1980. p. 15.
  9. 1 2 "Ildsjelpris til Unni Helland". Nordstrands Blad (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Jaysuma vil skrive norsk idrettshistorie". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 11 July 2007. p. 16.
  11. ↑ "Får drømmetur til Kina". Lokalavisen Frogner/St. Hanshaugen (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Runar Bålsrud valgt til president i NFIF" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Athletics Association. 30 March 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" (in Norwegian). Royal House of Norway. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
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