The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Sweden

This page contains a list of the greatest Swedish Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 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 52.34, 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 51.63, 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. Axel Cadier (1906 - 1974)

With an HPI of 50.87, Axel Cadier is the 3rd 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.

4. Olle Anderberg (1919 - 2003)

With an HPI of 50.03, Olle Anderberg is the 4th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 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.

5. Carl Westergren (1895 - 1958)

With an HPI of 50.01, 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. Bertil Antonsson (1921 - 2006)

With an HPI of 49.43, Bertil Antonsson is the 6th most famous Swedish Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Hans Bertil August Antonsson (19 July 1921 – 27 November 2006) was a Swedish heavyweight wrestler. He competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1960 Summer Olympics in freestyle wrestling and won silver medals in 1948 and 1952. In 1956 he entered the Greco-Roman contest instead and finished fifth. Antonsson took up wrestling at age 14, began competing aged 17, and retired at 47. Besides Olympic medals he won three world, two European and 24 national titles. At the 1953 World Greco-Roman Championships he dominated the reigning Olympic champion Johannes Kotkas, who was 30 kg heavier than Antonsson; he won the world title and was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal later that year. In retirement, for many years Antonsson headed his native club Trollhättans and refereed wrestling competitions. His brother Bengt and nephew Hans were also prominent wrestlers.

7. Claes Johanson (1884 - 1949)

With an HPI of 49.06, Claes Johanson is the 7th 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.

8. Erik Malmberg (1897 - 1964)

With an HPI of 48.71, Erik Malmberg is the 8th 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.

9. Johan Richthoff (1898 - 1983)

With an HPI of 47.18, Johan Richthoff is the 9th 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.

10. Gustav Freij (1922 - 1973)

With an HPI of 47.07, Gustav Freij is the 10th 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 ALS, aged 51. A memorial wrestling tournament is held in Sweden in his honor. His nephew Leif Freij also became an Olympic wrestler.

People

Pantheon has 24 people classified as Swedish wrestlers born between 1884 and 1991. Of these 24, 5 (20.83%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Swedish wrestlers include Johan Eurén, Sofia Mattsson, and Jenny Fransson. The most famous deceased Swedish wrestlers include Ivar Johansson, Rudolf Svensson, and Axel Cadier. As of April 2024, 4 new Swedish wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Bertil Antonsson, Anders Larsson, and Knut Fridell.