Einar Ólafsson (basketball)

Einar Ólafsson

Personal information
Born	(1928-01-13)13 January 1928 Reykjavík, Iceland
Died	12 March 2024(2024-03-12) (aged 96) Reykjavík, Iceland
Career history
As player:
195?–19??	ÍR
As coach:
1959–1964	ÍR (women's)
196?–19??	ÍR (men's)
19??–1975	ÍR (women's)
1979–1980	ÍR (men's)
1980–1981	ÍR (women's)
1983	Iceland (assistant)
1993–1994	ÍR (women's)

Einar Ólafsson (13 January 1928 – 12 March 2024) was an Icelandic basketball player and coach.[1] Called "the father of basketball",[2][3] he was one of the main pioneers of modern basketball in Iceland and was one of the inaugural members of Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur's basketball department.[4] He played for ÍR in the 1950s before turning to coaching. He coached at ÍR for almost 50 years, including its men's and women's senior teams, winning several national championships.[5][3]

Personal life

Einar was married to Guðfinna Kristín Kristjánsdóttir with whom he had three sons.[2]

Einar died at a nursing home in Reykjavík on 12 March 2024, aged 96.[2]

References

1. Ágúst Ásgeirsson (11 March 2007). Heil öld til heilla - Saga ÍR í 100 ár. Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur. pp. 568–569.
2. "Andlát: Einar Ólafsson". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 12 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
3. "Hann er faðir körfuboltans". Dagur - Tíminn (in Icelandic). 7 May 1997. p. 1. Retrieved 17 September 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
4. Rafn Marteinsson (28 November 1994). "Ný gullöld í vændum". Helgarpósturinn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 May 2019 – via Tímarit.is.
5. "Ég er á móti því að lið "kaupi" sér Íslandsmeistaratitil". Íþróttablaðið (in Icelandic). 1 April 1981. pp. 5, 27–32, 73. Retrieved 17 September 2022 – via Tímarit.is.