Aina Tufte sings song for late husband Olaf Tufte, Digi Mart USA News (Nadderud, Norway): Almost four months after the death of Olaf Tufte, his widow Aina performed the song “OL i himmelen” at a seminar organized by NTG at Nadderud on Monday evening.
In the song, Aina Tufte asked whether he could see them now and whether he knew how much they missed him. She sang about whether there are Olympic Games in heaven and whether he is a captain on his team.
Moderator Jan Åge Fjørtoft asked what the song is about. Aina Tufte said it concerns values and a wonder about what her husband is doing now in heaven, and whether there are Olympic Games up there.
She added that she hopes there are other sports there besides those with timekeeping.
Asked how she is doing day to day, Aina Tufte said it depends on which part of her answers. She described herself as Aina, who has the hardest time, as a mother, who supports their children, and as a businesswoman, for whom things go most easily.
Olaf Tufte was found unconscious at Tufte farm in Vestfold at the end of July. The popular athlete was declared dead at Rikshospitalet a day later.
He died of acute cardiac arrest at age 50 and is survived by his wife and two children.
Aina Tufte said that, although athletes often train for things, she had never trained for this. She said the family has a farm, the grain must be brought in, and life goes on.
“I chose to join in going forward,” she said.
Tufte is one of the most successful rowers of all time, with two Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver and one Olympic bronze. He competed in seven Olympic Games, from Atlanta in 1996 to Tokyo in 2021, where he rowed in the double sculls at age 45.
At the World Championships he won two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Aina Tufte said she and her husband had practiced being apart, as he traveled often, and that the family had strategies that worked while he was an active rower and still work now. She said many people, including strangers, have contacted the family in the months since his death, expressing care and saying they felt they knew the athlete without ever having met him.
Aina Tufte also said grief affects everyone differently, and that losing a parent, grandparent or neighbor can leave people numb and drained, but that life must find a way forward. Singer Bjarne Brøndbo was reported to have been moved to tears when he sang at the funeral.
