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The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Sweden

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 700 Wrestlers, 20 of which were born in Sweden. This makes Sweden the birth place of the 6th most number of Wrestlers behind Canada and Georgia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swedish Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Swedish Wrestlers 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 Wrestlers.

1. Ivar Johansson (1903 - 1979)

With an HPI of 50.69, Ivar Johansson is the most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Ivar Valentin Johansson (31 January 1903 – 4 August 1979) was a Swedish wrestler who competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1932 he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman welterweight and freestyle middleweight events. Four years later he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman middleweight competition.

2. Rudolf Svensson (1899 - 1978)

With an HPI of 49.55, Rudolf Svensson is the 2nd most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Johan Rudolf "Starke Rudolf" Svensson (27 March 1899 – 4 December 1978) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics in four freestyle and Greco-Roman events in total, and won a gold or silver medal in each of them. Svensson was most successful in the Greco-Roman light-heavyweight category, in which he won two European titles in 1925 and 1933, seven national titles in 1926–36, two silver medals at the world championships, and three at the European Championships. A firefighter by profession, Svensson also played minor roles in several Swedish movies between 1934 and 1952. In 2005 he was inducted into the International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

3. Olle Anderberg (1919 - 2003)

With an HPI of 48.77, Olle Anderberg is the 3rd most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Olle Henrik Martin Anderberg (13 September 1919 – 26 September 2003) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics in freestyle and Greco-Roman events and won a silver medal in the Greco-Roman featherweight in 1948 and a gold in the freestyle lightweight in 1952. Between 1942 and 1962 Anderberg won three world, two European and 27 national titles. Anderberg's father Frans and brother Gunnar played football in the Swedish premier division. Olle tried football too, but had a much better career in wrestling, both as a competitor and a coach. He worked with the national teams of Finland, Turkey and Iran (1957–1960), and was personally known to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

4. Claes Johanson (1884 - 1949)

With an HPI of 48.23, Claes Johanson is the 4th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Claes Edvin Johansson (4 November 1884 – 9 March 1949) was a Swedish wrestler who competed in the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics and won two gold medals, in 1912 and 1920. In 1913 he won the unofficial European Championships in the 75 kg division.

5. Carl Westergren (1895 - 1958)

With an HPI of 48.09, Carl Westergren is the 5th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Carl "Calle" Oscar Westergren (13 October 1895 – 5 August 1958) was a Swedish wrestler who competed in the 1920, 1924, 1928, and 1932 Summer Olympics. He won gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1920, 1924 and 1932; in 1924 he also finished sixth in freestyle wrestling. In Greco-Roman wrestling Westergren also won the world middleweight title in 1922, as well as three European titles in different weight classes: middleweight in 1925, light-heavyweight in 1930, and unlimited in 1931. He worked as a bus driver and had two elder brothers who also trained in wrestling. He later became a keen pigeon breeder.

6. Axel Cadier (1906 - 1974)

With an HPI of 47.89, Axel Cadier is the 6th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Axel Vilhelm Teodor Cadier (13 September 1906 – 29 October 1974) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed in Greco-Roman events at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics and won a bronze and a gold medal, respectively. Cadier first trained in swimming and boxing, but changed to wrestling at the age 21. Besides his Olympic medals he won four European and 11 national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling (1934–1942; 6 in Greco-Roman, 5 in freestyle). In the 1940s–1950s he wrestled professionally in North America. After that he trained the Norwegian national team and worked as an instructor at the French State Sports Institute.

7. Erik Malmberg (1897 - 1964)

With an HPI of 47.62, Erik Malmberg is the 7th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Erik Malmberg (15 March 1897 – 9 May 1964) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman events and won a bronze, a silver, and a gold medal, respectively. His younger brother Algost also took part in the 1928 Games, but as a freestyle wrestler. Malmberg was a businessman by trade.

8. Johan Richthoff (1898 - 1983)

With an HPI of 46.53, Johan Richthoff is the 8th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Johan Cornelius "Snövit" Richthoff (30 April 1898 – 1 October 1983) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed in the freestyle heavyweight division at the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics and won gold medals in 1928 and 1932; he shared fourth place in 1924. Richthoff was born to a fisherman in a family of six, and trained in football and athletics before changing to wrestling. Besides his Olympic medals, he won the European titles in light-heavyweight freestyle in 1929 and 1930, and in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1930. Later that year he became the first wrestler to receive the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. After the 1932 Olympics he wrestled professionally in the United States, and won 92 bouts out of 100, drawing 8 and losing none. In 1933 he returned to Sweden to prepare the national wrestling team to the 1936 Olympics, and continued to wrestle professionally until age 49. Richthoff was a Free Church preacher who campaigned against alcoholism. He was also active in music, literature and chess.

9. Gustav Freij (1922 - 1973)

With an HPI of 45.99, Gustav Freij is the 9th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Karl Gustav Herbert Freij (17 March 1922 – 4 August 1973) was a Swedish wrestler. He competed in the Greco-Roman lightweight (−67 kg) category at the 1948, 1952 and 1960 Olympics and finished in first, second and third place, respectively. He missed the 1956 Games due to an injury. After retiring from competitions Freij worked at the Allhems printing plant in Malmö. He died of cancer, aged 51. A memorial wrestling tournament is held in Sweden in his honor. His nephew Leif Freij also became an Olympic wrestler.

10. Axel Grönberg (1918 - 1988)

With an HPI of 45.85, Axel Grönberg is the 10th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Rolf Axel "Acke" Ejnar Grönberg (9 May 1918 – 23 April 1988) was a Swedish wrestler, who won the Greco-Roman middleweight division at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. Grönberg was raised in Norberg, but moved to Stockholm as a teenager. There he worked as a plumber and masseur, and started wrestling following his elder brothers Fritz and Harald. Besides his Olympic medals he won a world title in 1950, three European Championship medals, as well as 16 national titles between 1944 and 1958.

People

Pantheon has 20 people classified as wrestlers born between 1884 and 1991. Of these 20, 4 (20.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living wrestlers include Sofia Mattsson, Johan Eurén, and Jenny Fransson. The most famous deceased wrestlers include Ivar Johansson, Rudolf Svensson, and Olle Anderberg. As of April 2022, 11 new wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Olle Anderberg, Axel Cadier, and Erik Malmberg.