Ken Bartholomew

Ken Bartholomew, born on February tenth, nineteen twenty, in Leonard, North Dakota, emerged as a prominent speed skating champion in the United States. He was the son of William N. Bartholomew and Clara U. Bartholomew, and grew up in a family that valued sports, with his father serving as the head timer at various speed skating events for over thirty-five years.

Residing in Minnesota, Bartholomew dedicated himself to the sport, participating in local, statewide, and national competitions. His impressive career was marked by the achievement of more than one thousand medals and trophies, including fourteen National Championship titles from nineteen forty-five to nineteen sixty, three North American outdoor titles, and one North American indoor title. His Olympic journey began in nineteen forty-eight when he competed in the five hundred meters at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, securing a second-place finish alongside fellow American Bob Fitzgerald and Norwegian Thomas Byberg.

In addition to his athletic pursuits, Bartholomew worked for Northwestern Bell, where he laid and repaired telephone lines, and also owned a tree service. In his later years, he expanded his athletic repertoire to include ski jumping and golf. He and his wife, Evelyn, raised five daughters together, fostering a family environment rich in sportsmanship.

Bartholomew's contributions to the sport were recognized with his induction into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame in nineteen fifty-nine and the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in nineteen sixty-eight. His legacy continued to shine at the nineteen seventy-four Senior Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, where he clinched gold medals in the two hundred meters, five hundred meters, one thousand meters, and one thousand five hundred meters.

Ken's athletic prowess ran in the family; his brothers also made their mark in sports. Earl Bartholomew, a professional ice hockey player, was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in nineteen seventy-seven, while Carl once held the world record for non-stop speed skating with an astonishing time of fifty-four and a half hours.