Haukur was an athlete from 1946-51. At the age of 19, he made it to the sixth heat of the men's 100 metres at the 1948 London Summer Olympics. He also competed in the European Championships in Brussels in 1950, with Europe's best time (21.3 seconds) for the 200 metre sprint for 1950, and became Nordic Champion in the 200m sprint in 1947. He held a range of Icelandic records in athletics.