The Most Famous
SKATERS from Sweden
Top 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Swedish Skaters of all time. This list of famous Swedish Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Gillis Grafström (1893 - 1938)
With an HPI of 55.82, Gillis Grafström is the most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.
Gillis Emanuel Grafström (7 June 1893 – 14 April 1938) was a Swedish figure skater. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He won three successive Olympic gold medals in Men's Figure Skating (1920, 1924, 1928) as well as an Olympic silver medal in the same event in 1932, and three World Championships (1922, 1924, 1929). He and Eddie Eagan are the only athletes to have won a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Grafström has the further distinction of being the only person to have won an individual gold medal in both the Summer (1920) and Winter Olympics (1924, 1928), although Eagan remains the only one to have managed the feat in different disciplines. Grafström is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. He is one of the oldest figure skating Olympic champions.
2. Åke Seyffarth (1919 - 1998)
With an HPI of 48.93, Åke Seyffarth is the 2nd most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Karl Åke Seyffarth (15 December 1919 – 1 January 1998) was a Swedish speed skater who specialised in long distance events. He set new world records on the 5,000 m (8:13.7) in 1941 and on the 3000 m (4:45.7) in 1942. He became European Allround Champions in 1947, winning both the 5,000 m and the 10000 m on his way to becoming European Champion. In addition to speed skating, Seyffarth also was one of Sweden's leading cyclists, but this career was hampered by an injury in a dirt biking accident in 1943. Seyffarth participated in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, the first Winter Olympic Games to be held in twelve years. As a result of the lack of competition during, and shortly after, World War II, Seyffarth entered the 5,000 m as the world record holder, a record he had set almost exactly seven years earlier, in 1941. During his heat, Seyffarth seemed to be winning until a photographer tried to take a picture of him and stepped onto the ice. Seyffarth brushed the photographer, losing several seconds, and went on to lose his heat and finally come in seventh overall. The winner of the race was Reidar Liaklev with a time of 8:29.4, well above Seyffarth's 1941 world record of 8:13.7. Seyffarth's official 5,000 m time was 8:37.9.The day after his disappointing 5000 m race, Seyffarth won Olympic silver on the 1,500 m, half a second behind Norwegian skater Sverre Farstad. The day after that, Seyffarth won Olympic gold on the 10000 m with a time of 17:26.30, not a particularly fast time considering that the world record at the time was 17:01.50. He won with relative ease, however, almost ten seconds ahead of silver medallist Lassi Parkkinen from Finland.
3. Sigvard Ericsson (1930 - 2019)
With an HPI of 48.02, Sigvard Ericsson is the 3rd most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
John Sigvard "Sigge" Ericsson (17 July 1930 – 2 November 2019) was a Swedish speed skater. He competed at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in 1956.
4. Richard Johansson (1882 - 1952)
With an HPI of 47.85, Richard Johansson is the 4th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Richard Johansson (18 June 1882 – 24 July 1952) was a Swedish figure skater. He won the silver medal in the men's singles competition at the 1908 London Olympics. He was part of the Swedish medal sweep there. He also skated in pairs with Gertrud Ström and won the bronze at the 1909 World Championships.
5. Göran Claeson (b. 1945)
With an HPI of 47.80, Göran Claeson is the 5th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Rolf Göran Claeson (born 4 March 1945) is a former speed skater from Sweden. Claeson participated in the 1,500 m at the 1968 Winter Olympics of Grenoble, but finished only 20th. In 1969, at the first European Allround Championships in which Claeson participated, he won bronze. Three weeks later, at the first World Allround Championships in which he participated, he won silver. More international medals followed during the next few years, but none of them were gold. Then, after the 1971–1972 season, two of the world's top skaters, Ard Schenk and Kees Verkerk, joined a newly formed professional league. Another top skater, Dag Fornæss, retired from speed skating. The following season, Claeson promptly became both European and World Allround Champion. Claeson won several more medals, including a bronze medal on the 1,500 m at the 1972 Winter Olympics of Sapporo. In 1975, he entered the European Allround Championships as the reigning European Champion, but he finished only 11th. He retired from speed skating that same year.
6. Per Thorén (1885 - 1962)
With an HPI of 47.56, Per Thorén is the 6th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Per Ludvig Julius Thorén (26 January 1885 – 5 January 1962) was a Swedish figure skater in the early 20th century who won a bronze medal at the 1908 Olympic Games. In Europe, the half loop jump, a variation of the loop jump, was often referred to as the Thorén jump.
7. Jonny Nilsson (1943 - 2022)
With an HPI of 46.20, Jonny Nilsson is the 7th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Erling Martin Jonny Nilsson (9 February 1943 – 22 June 2022) was a Swedish competitive speed skater. He was the men's Olympic champion in the 10 000 m skating in 1964.
8. Johnny Höglin (b. 1943)
With an HPI of 43.95, Johnny Höglin is the 8th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Hans Johnny Höglin (born 26 February 1943) is a Swedish speed skater whose greatest moment was to win a gold medal in the 10000-meter event at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France.Höglin was a surprise winner, having never placed higher than 10th in the European or World Championships, and having finished fifth in the 1500 and 5000-meter races at the 1968 Olympics. He nevertheless edged favorite Fred Anton Maier by 0.3 seconds to win the 10000 meters.At the 1972 Winter Olympics, Höglin finished 9th in the 1500 meters and 12th in the 5000 meters.Höglin's younger brother Urban, along with Urban's fiancée Heidi Paakkonen, was murdered while touring New Zealand in 1989.
9. Nils van der Poel (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 34.11, Nils van der Poel is the 9th most famous Swedish Skater. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Nils Göran van der Poel (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɪls fan dɛ(r) ˈpʰuːl]; born 25 April 1996) is a retired Swedish speed skater who is the current World and Olympic record holder and 2022 Olympic champion in the 5,000 m event and the 10,000 m event.
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as Swedish skaters born between 1882 and 1996. Of these 9, 3 (33.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish skaters include Göran Claeson, Johnny Höglin, and Nils van der Poel. The most famous deceased Swedish skaters include Gillis Grafström, Åke Seyffarth, and Sigvard Ericsson. As of April 2024, 1 new Swedish skaters have been added to Pantheon including Johnny Höglin.
Living Swedish Skaters
Go to all Rankings
Göran Claeson
1945 - Present
HPI: 47.80
Johnny Höglin
1943 - Present
HPI: 43.95
Nils van der Poel
1996 - Present
HPI: 34.11
Deceased Swedish Skaters
Go to all RankingsGillis Grafström
1893 - 1938
HPI: 55.82
Åke Seyffarth
1919 - 1998
HPI: 48.93
Sigvard Ericsson
1930 - 2019
HPI: 48.02
Richard Johansson
1882 - 1952
HPI: 47.85
Per Thorén
1885 - 1962
HPI: 47.56
Jonny Nilsson
1943 - 2022
HPI: 46.20
Newly Added Swedish Skaters (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Skaters were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Skaters since 1700.
