Gert Fredriksson (Canoeing)
Gert Fridolf Fredriksson of Sweden is regarded as the most successful athlete in the Olympic Games canoeing competition of all-time. Taking part in four Olympic Games, Fredriksson cruised his way into securing eight medals (six of them gold). He won the gold medal in the K-1 1,000 m event from 1952 to 1956, K-1 10,000m (1948 and 1956) and K-2 1,000m (1960). He also grabbed a silver medal in the K-1 10,000m event in 1952 and a bronze medal (K-1 1,000 m) in 1960. Fredriksson served as the head coach of the Sweden team that competed at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Fredriksson also won seven gold medals at the World Championships and 71 medals in the Sweden national championships.
In 1949, Fredriksson was bestowed with the highly-coveted Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. In 1956 he also received the Mohammad Taher trophy by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for being the top athlete in the world during that time. He is the only canoeist to who have received such an honor.
All in all, Fredriksson piled up 56 top finishes in the individual events, 35 top finishes in the relay events, and three top finishes in the pairs events. His remarkable durability made him among the greatest paddlers in the history of the sport.
Related Pages
- Canoeing at the Olympics
- See also Birgit Fischer, who won 12 Olympic canoeing medals between 1980 and 2004.
- Sweden at the Olympics
- Sport in Sweden
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