Guttorm Paulsen was active as a ski jumper from 1929 to 1940. After leaving competitive skiing he became active in organizational matters. He held several CUSSA positions from 1948 through 1954.

Guttorm Paulsen was born in Oslo, Norway in 1906. As a youngster growing up he was on skis about the time he could walk. Paulsen skied both cross-country and jumping but finally concentrated on the sport of jumping. Before he immigrated to the United States, Paulsen participated in the Holmenkollen event, a distinct honor for any Norwegian youth.

Paulsen immigrated to the United States in 1928 and settled in the city of Chicago. He was an active ski jumper for the city’s Norge Ski Club from 1929 until 1940.

A summary of Paulsen’s impressive record for the 1929 season follows:

• 1st prize and longest standing jump at Cary Hill – January 13
• 1st prize – Ogden Dunes, Indiana
• 1st prize and longest standing jump – Racine, Wisconsin
• 2nd prize – Westby, Wisconsin
• 1st prize – Red Wing, Minnesota
• Midwest Championship and longest standing jump – Canto, South Dakota
• Class “B” National Championship and longest standing jump – Brattleboro, Vermont
• New York State Championship
• Connecticut Championship
• 1st prize and longest sanding jump at Cary Hill – March 3

In 1930, Paulsen made the longest jump of 212 feet at Steamboat Spring’s famed Howelsen Hill (one foot short of the North American record of that time of 213 feet). He continued to do well in jumping tournaments until his retirement from skiing in 1940.

After Paulsen’s retirement, he continued to contribute to the sport of skiing by becoming a top jumping judge with the Central United States Ski Association as well as on the international circuit. In 1952, he was selected as a jumping judge at the Winter Olympic Games in Oslo in his native Norway.

Paulsen served as a secretary for the Central United States Ski Association. From 1948 through 1954 he swerved as a committeeman on the National Ski Association Ski Jumping Committee. In 1956 he was the Chief Technical Advisor to the 1956 Olympic Ski Games Committee for the games at Cortina, Italy. Paulsen also served as a member of the F.I.S. Ski Jumping Committee for several years.

Guttorm Paulsen was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame at Ishpeming, Michigan in 1971 for his contributions to the sport of skiing which he so clearly loved.