Background
He is the son of Leif Efskind (1904–1987), professor of medicine at the University of Oslo and a pioneer in the field of heart operations.
He is the son of Leif Efskind (1904–1987), professor of medicine at the University of Oslo and a pioneer in the field of heart operations.
Foreign several years he skated at close to national top level, concurrently with political activism and his education in civil engineering and medicine. Efskind"s The Soldier"s Little Red Book was published in 1970 and caused public sphere as well as legal controversy, as it was concerned with political organisation within the armed forces. The author was charged with crimes against Article 140 of the Norwegian Penal Code (stirring up others to carry out criminal offences), which carries a maximum sentence of eight years of imprisonment.
Efskind was however acquitted by the Supreme Court on the grounds of freedom of speech.
Also the novel Trylleringen (The Lords of the Ring) of 1973 caused controversy, through its negative description of the speedskating milieu, on and off the circuit. During this time he was also student"s representative of the first board of the recently established University of Tromsø.
Later books with fellow speedskater and medical doctor Asle T. Johansen have been of the "exotic group bicycling excursions" type, with emphasis also on the philosophy of travelling. These excursions have included bicycling around the earth in 80 days.
The route of Mao"s Long March.
On the roof of the world in Tibet. And via the Andes to the source of Amazon River. Efskind"s 2007 project is to lead a group of cyclists through the Vietnam War, from Hanoi via My Lai to the killing fields of Cambodia.
Efskind has also been working as a medical doctor during the El Salvador civil war and in Palestine, while trying to pursue his talent as a painter.
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com.