ATHLETES from Iceland

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Icelander Athletes of all time. This list of famous Icelander Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Vilhjálmur Einarsson (1934 - 2019)

With an HPI of 47.40, Vilhjálmur Einarsson is the most famous Icelander Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Vilhjálmur Einarsson (5 June 1934 – 28 December 2019) was an Icelandic track and field athlete, and triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Vilhjálmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing village of Reyðarfjörður and was the son of Einar Stefánsson and Sigríður Vilhjálmsdóttir. In 1956 Vilhjálmur set a new Olympic Record by jumping 16.26 m in the triple jump, only to be surpassed by Brazil's Adhemar da Silva in the same competition. This was the most unexpected result of the Olympics that year, and his silver medal was Iceland's first ever Olympic medal. In 1958 he took bronze in the triple jump at the European Athletics Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, with 16.00 m. His personal best was 16.70 m set in 1960 in Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland. He was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year five times, more times than anyone else. Vilhjálmur was also a headmaster of three schools: Héraðsskólinn in Laugarvatn, Reykholtsskóli in Reykholt, and Menntaskólinn in Egilsstaðir, where he later worked as a part-time mathematics teacher. He also was a painter, specializing in landscape painting, and his work has been on display in several art galleries in Iceland. He attended Dartmouth College. His son Einar Vilhjálmsson later represented Iceland in the men's javelin throw at the Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992).

2. Vala Flosadóttir (1978 - )

With an HPI of 29.48, Vala Flosadóttir is the 2nd most famous Icelander Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Vala Flosadóttir (born 16 February 1978 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic former athlete competing in the pole vault.

3. Aníta Hinriksdóttir (1996 - )

With an HPI of 18.91, Aníta Hinriksdóttir is the 3rd most famous Icelander Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Aníta Hinriksdóttir (born 13 January 1996) is an Icelandic middle-distance track athlete who specializes in the 800 metres. She won the bronze medal in the event at the 2017 European Indoor Championships and a silver at the 2017 European Under-23 Championships. As a 16-year old, she placed fourth in the 800 m at the 2012 World U20 Championships before winning the event at the 2013 World U18 Championships and European U20 Championships. Hinriksdóttir is the Icelandic record holder for the 800 m and 1500 m outdoors and indoors and holds also three other individual national records. She won 13 Icelandic titles.