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The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from Sweden

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This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 183 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.

Photo of Axel Ljung

1. Axel Ljung (1884 - 1938)

With an HPI of 49.98, 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.

Photo of Karin Lindberg

2. Karin Lindberg (1929 - 2020)

With an HPI of 49.49, Karin Lindberg is the 2nd most famous Swedish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 22 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.

Photo of Arvid Holmberg

3. Arvid Holmberg (1886 - 1958)

With an HPI of 47.28, Arvid Holmberg is the 3rd 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.

Photo of Carl Holmberg

4. Carl Holmberg (1884 - 1909)

With an HPI of 46.76, 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.

Photo of Haakon Sörvik

5. Haakon Sörvik (1886 - 1970)

With an HPI of 45.40, Haakon Sörvik is the 5th 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.

Photo of Rolf Johnsson

6. Rolf Johnsson (1889 - 1931)

With an HPI of 44.90, Rolf Johnsson is the 6th most famous Swedish Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Rolf Johnsson (1 December 1889 – 3 June 1931) 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.

Photo of Göta Pettersson

7. Göta Pettersson (1926 - 1993)

With an HPI of 44.51, Göta Pettersson is the 7th most famous Swedish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Göta Elisabeth Pettersson (18 December 1926 – 9 October 1993) was a Swedish gymnast. She was part of the Swedish teams that finished fourth all-around at both the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and won a gold medal in the team portable apparatus in 1952. She also won a gold all-around team medal at the 1950 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Photo of Per Nilsson

8. Per Nilsson (1890 - 1964)

With an HPI of 44.49, Per Nilsson is the 8th most famous Swedish Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Per Elis Albert Nilsson (January 4, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Swedish team, which won the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team, Swedish system event.

Photo of Nils Widforss

9. Nils Widforss (1880 - 1960)

With an HPI of 44.44, Nils Widforss is the 9th 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.

Photo of Hugo Jahnke

10. Hugo Jahnke (1886 - 1939)

With an HPI of 44.16, Hugo Jahnke is the 10th most famous Swedish Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Hugo Jahnke (March 6, 1886 in Stockholm – January 12, 1939) 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.

Pantheon has 27 people classified as gymnasts born between 1880 and 1934. Of these 27, 1 (3.70%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living gymnasts include Ann-Sofi Pettersson. The most famous deceased gymnasts include Axel Ljung, Karin Lindberg, and Arvid Holmberg. As of April 2022, 19 new gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Haakon Sörvik, Rolf Johnsson, and Göta Pettersson.

Living Gymnasts

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Deceased Gymnasts

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Newly Added Gymnasts (2022)

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Which Gymnasts were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Gymnasts since 1700.