The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from Sweden

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 370 Gymnasts, 27 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 2nd most number of Gymnasts.

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. Axel Ljung (1884 - 1938)

With an HPI of 54.61, Axel Ljung is the most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

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.

2. Karin Lindberg (1929 - 2020)

With an HPI of 48.86, Karin Lindberg is the 2nd most famous Swedish Gymnast. Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Karin Elisabet Lindberg (later Lindén, 6 October 1929 – 2 December 2020) was a Swedish 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 all-around in 1948 and 1952. At the 1948 Summer Olympics, she had the highest score in the entire competition on vault in both the compulsory and optional segments of the competition. She continued to be impressive on this apparatus for years to come as evidenced by the fact that she took seventh place on the vault in 1952.

3. Haakon Sörvik (1886 - 1970)

With an HPI of 48.82, Haakon Sörvik is the 3rd most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Haakon Sörvik (October 31, 1886 – May 30, 1970) 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.

4. Carl Holmberg (1884 - 1909)

With an HPI of 48.81, Carl Holmberg is the 4th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Carl H. Holmberg (March 9, 1884 – December 1, 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.

5. Sven Forssman (1882 - 1919)

With an HPI of 48.02, Sven Forssman is the 5th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sven Forssman (12 September 1882 – 1 March 1919) 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.

6. Nils Widforss (1880 - 1960)

With an HPI of 47.96, Nils Widforss is the 6th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Nils Widforss (November 30, 1880 – May 2, 1960) 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.

7. Arvid Holmberg (1886 - 1958)

With an HPI of 47.53, Arvid Holmberg is the 7th 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.

8. Carl Folcker (1889 - 1911)

With an HPI of 47.50, Carl Folcker is the 8th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Carl Wilhelm Folcker (March 28, 1889 – July 2, 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.

9. Daniel Norling (1888 - 1958)

With an HPI of 46.53, Daniel Norling is the 9th most famous Swedish Gymnast. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Lars Daniel Norling (16 January 1888 – 28 August 1958) was a Swedish Army officer, gymnast and equestrian who participated in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 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. In the 1912 Summer Olympics he won his second gold medal as member of the Swedish gymnastics team in the Swedish system event. At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, he was a member of the Swedish Equestrian jumping team, which won the gold medal. Norling was promoted to major in 1937.

10. Gösta Åsbrink (1881 - 1966)

With an HPI of 46.48, Gösta Åsbrink is the 10th most famous Swedish Gymnast. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Karl "Gösta" Åsbrink (18 November 1881 – 19 April 1966) was a Swedish gymnast and modern pentathlete who won a gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Åsbrink's 1908 gold medal was won in London for a team event, as the Swedish men's gymnastics team came in first. Four years later, competing before a home audience in 1912 Stockholm, he won an individual silver medal in the first contested Modern pentathlon of the Olympic Games. Åsbrink was a lieutenant of Swedish Army at the time and was later promoted to a major.

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 Vanja Blomberg, Hjördis Nordin, and Ann-Sofi Pettersson. The most famous deceased Swedish gymnasts include Axel Ljung, Karin Lindberg, and Haakon Sörvik. As of April 2024, 6 new Swedish gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Vanja Blomberg, Carl Hårleman, and Hjördis Nordin.