Gert Fridolf Fredriksson (21 November 1919 – 5 July 2006) was a Swedish sprint canoeist. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won eight medals including six golds (1948: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 m; 1952: K-1 1000 m, 1956: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 m; 1960: K-2 1000 m), one silver (1952: K-1 10000 m), and one bronze (K-1 1000 m). At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Fredriksson was head coach of the Swedish team.
 Gert Fredriksson at the 1960 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gert Fridolf Fredriksson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 November 1919 Nyköping, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 July 2006 (aged 86) Nyköping, Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Canoe sprint | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Nyköpings Kanotklubb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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He was the most successful male canoeist ever, having gained medals in a succession of Swedish, Nordic, World and Olympic championships from 1942 to 1960. With six gold medals Fredriksson remains the most successful Swede at the Olympics.[1]
He also won seven gold medals at the World Championships and 71 medals in the Swedish championships.[1]
Fredriksson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1949. In 1956 he was awarded the Mohammad Taher trophy by the International Olympic Committee as the number one sportsman in the world, the only canoeist to be presented with this trophy.[2]
| Year | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1946–1955 | K-1 500 m | 2 | ||
| K-1 1000 m | 5 | |||
| K-1 10000 m | 5 | |||
| K-1 4×500 m relay | 5 | |||
| Total | 17 |
| Year | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1942–1960 | K-1 500 m | 1 | 1 | |
| K-1 1000 m | 16 | 1 | 1 | |
| K-1 10000 m | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 32 | 2 | 2 |
See also
References
- Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007) – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint). CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 1–41 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 January 2010). Additional archives: BCU.org.uk.
- Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007) – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines. CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 42–83 at WebCite (archived 9 November 2009). Additional archives: BCU.org.uk.
- Kamber, Raymond, ed. (2008). "Medal Winners – Olympic Games and World Championships (1936–2007)" (PDF). CanoeICF.com. International Canoe Federation. pp. 1–83. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2018.
- International Olympic Committee biography
- Slam sports "Swedish canoeist Gert Fredriksson, 6-time Olympic gold medallist, dies at 86" July 6 2006 at archive.today (archived 23 June 2007)
- Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Kayak Pairs 1000 Meters". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 475.
External links
- Gert Fredriksson at Olympedia
- Gert Fredriksson at Olympics.com
- Gert Fredriksson at the Sveriges Olympiska Kommitté (in Swedish) (English translation)
