"Our best brother moment?" Sondre Guttormsen looked at his brother, Simen, as he repeated the question.
The pole-vaulting brothers chuckled together. Sondre, two years older than Simen, spoke first. He recalled a story about competing in the European championship. Sondre's coach and their father suggested a certain tactical move. Simen was uncertain about it and suggested another.
When their father told Sondre that Simen thought they should change tactics, Sondre trusted his brother's intuition and changed his plan.
"If it wasn't for that tactical choice, I wouldn't have won the meet. You know my psychology so well, you know how I jump, how I react to things," Sondre said.
"That was a good brother moment."
The brothers have had many good moments together. On their path from their home country of Norway to Princeton to the Olympics, they have helped each other along the way and acknowledge their brotherhood as pivotal in their success.
Sondre, 25, and Simen, 23, both have been pole vaulting since they were 8 or so. Their father, Atle, an economics professor, has coached them their whole lives. Out of high school, Sondre began his collegiate career at UCLA. The following year, Simen began his career at Princeton, absolutely loving both his team and the challenging academic environment.
Sondre Guttormsen will compete at his second Olympics in Paris. It will be his younger brother Simen's first Games. (Photo by Alex Livesey / Getty Images)
After Sondre's sophomore year, he wanted a change in his collegiate career. Why not join his brother?
"It wasn't the perfect fit (at UCLA)," Sondre said. "Then I realized, after Simen's positive experience at Princeton, … I think I called everybody that same day and I was like, 'All right, we're doing this. Let's go.'"
Simen welcomed the idea of training with his brother again.
"I thought (Princeton) is perfect. If I get to have my brother here as well, it would be even better than it is already."
Before both brothers graduated from Princeton in 2023, they helped each other amass great success. Sondre won four Ivy League championships, as well as three NCAA championships. Simen was a two-time All-American and four-time Ivy League runner-up. As a graduate student, he went on to compete for Duke, where he set the school record and won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
"I've never been mad at Sondre for winning, but after my fourth or fifth second-place Ivy League finish, I was like 'Ugh, can't you let me win for once?'" Simen said.
The brothers exchanged smiles and laughed again.
Simen Guttormsen sails in the air at a meet during his time at Princeton. (Photo by Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Academically, Simen helped Sondre with the rigors of an Ivy League education. When Sondre felt nervous about transferring, Simen empowered him to feel confident in taking the challenging academic route.
"Simen was always the smarter one, especially in math and stuff, because he was studying financial math," Sondre said. "So every time I had any math problem, I was getting help from him."
At Princeton, the brothers would do visualization together before meets, focusing on mindfulness for 20 minutes before each competition. They would talk about their schedule for the day, synchronizing on when to eat, what time to make a snack and when to do their activation run. The brothers said they try not to rely on each other too much, but it has helped to have an accountability partner in every aspect of their life.
"We're always side by side. … And, yeah, it works," Sondre said. "We're good friends, good training partners."
Now, the Guttormsen brothers will be competing together for Norway in the Paris Games. It is the first Olympics for Simen, the second for Sondre.
They both have the same goal: to make it to the final. From there, they both want to execute their jumps and put themselves in the best position to succeed. Most importantly, they know they will have each other.
"We want to perform when we're there. So making the final would be a big, very big accomplishment," Sondre said. "In the Olympics, we'll look at each other and give each other advice, even out there on the field."
"I help you as best as I can when you're competing," Simen said, "and you do the same for me."
