Erik Larsson (skier)

Erik Larsson
Erik Larsson at the 1936 Olympics
Personal information
Born12 April 1912
Kurravaara, Sweden
Died10 March 1982 (aged 69)
Kiruna, Sweden
Height163 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
SportCross-country skiing
ClubIFK Kiruna
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 18 km
Bronze medal – third place 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 4 × 10 km relay
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1935 Vysoké Tatry 4 × 10 km relay

Erik August Larsson (12 April 1912 – 10 March 1982) was a Swedish cross-country skier who competed in the 1930s. He won two medals at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a gold in the 18 km and a bronze in the 4 × 10 km relay. The same year he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. Larsson also won a bronze in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1935 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.[1][2]

Larsson was born as the second youngest of six siblings in a religious Finnish-speaking family. In 1935, he started working as a cleaner at the Kiruna iron ore mine in the summer and as a lumberjack in the winter. In 1939, after attending a prayer meeting in Kurravaara he gave up his sport career and became a Laestadian Christian. He was later a preacher in the Firstborn Laestadian congregation in Kiruna. His son Lars became a preacher in Luleå, while his granddaughter Åsa Larsson was a tax lawyer and a writer of crime novels.[1]

Cross-country skiing results

[edit]

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]

Olympic Games

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  • 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   18 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1936 23 Gold Bronze

World Championships

[edit]
  • 1 medal – (1 bronze)
 Year   Age   18 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1935 22 Bronze
1938 25 12

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Erik Larsson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ Erik Larsson. Swedish Olympic Committee
  3. ^ "LARSSON Erik-August". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
[edit]
Preceded by Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
1936
Succeeded by