The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from Sweden

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 370 Gymnasts, 33 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 5th most number of Gymnasts behind China, and Romania.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Gymnasts of all time. This list of famous Swedish Gymnasts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swedish Gymnasts.

1. Karin Lindberg (1929 - 2020)

With an HPI of 59.57, Karin Lindberg is the most famous Swedish Gymnast. Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages on wikipedia.

Karin Elisabet Lindberg (later Lindén, 6 October 1929 – 2 December 2020) was a Swedish artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in team exercise with portable apparatus, in 1952 and 1956, respectively. Her teams finished fourth in the all-around in 1948 and 1952.

2. Carl Holmberg (1884 - 1909)

With an HPI of 58.12, Carl Holmberg is the 2nd most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Carl Johan Severin Holmberg (9 March 1884 – 1 December 1909) was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Swedish team, which was able to win the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team event in 1908.

3. Axel Ljung (1884 - 1938)

With an HPI of 57.87, Axel Ljung is the 3rd most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Harald Axel Fredrik Ljung (31 March 1884 – 5 February 1938) was a Swedish gymnast and track and field athlete who won an all-around gold medal with the Swedish gymnastics team at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He also participated in the 100 m sprint, 100 m hurdles and standing long jump events at the 1906 Intercalated Games and finished fifth in the long jump. Ljung's personal bests in athletics were 11.3 in the 100 m (1904) and 16.0 in the 110 mH (1906).

4. Arvid Holmberg (1886 - 1958)

With an HPI of 57.15, Arvid Holmberg is the 4th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Nils Arvid Birger Holmberg (10 October 1886 – 11 September 1958) was a Swedish gymnast. He was part of the Swedish team that won the all-around title at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The team included his brothers Carl and Oswald.

5. Gösta Olson (1883 - 1966)

With an HPI of 56.58, Gösta Olson is the 5th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Gustaf Adolf "Gösta" Olson (10 May 1883 – 23 January 1966) was a Swedish gymnast and fencer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Swedish gymnastics team that won the all-around gold medal, and was eliminated in the first round of the individual épée event. He was a member of the fencing club Föreningen för Fäktkonstens Främjande.

6. Carl Folcker (1889 - 1911)

With an HPI of 55.91, Carl Folcker is the 6th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Carl Wilhelm Folcker (March 28, 1889 – July 3, 1911) was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Swedish team, which was able to win the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team event in 1908. He died by suicide on 3 July 1911 at Trossnäs field.

7. Ann-Sofi Pettersson (b. 1932)

With an HPI of 55.80, Ann-Sofi Pettersson is the 7th most famous Swedish Gymnast. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Elin Ann-Sofi Pettersson-Colling (later Saltin; born 1 January 1932) is a retired Swedish gymnast. She competed at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in the obsolete event team portable apparatus. In 1956, she also won a bronze on the vault, the only Swedish gymnast to win an individual Olympic medal. Her landing was described as one of the best olympic finishes of all time. Pettersson was the national champion in 1951 to 1958 and sportswoman of the year in 1955. She later married Bengt Saltin, a sports scientist, and worked as a doctor.

People

Pantheon has 33 people classified as Swedish gymnasts born between 1880 and 1995. Of these 33, 4 (12.12%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish gymnasts include Ann-Sofi Pettersson, Hjördis Nordin, and Vanja Blomberg. The most famous deceased Swedish gymnasts include Karin Lindberg, Carl Holmberg, and Axel Ljung. As of April 2024, 33 new Swedish gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Karin Lindberg, Carl Holmberg, and Axel Ljung.