Åke Seyffarth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1948 Lake Placid | 10000 m |
| Silver | 1948 Lake Placid | 1500 m |
Åke Seyffarth (Jan 15, 1919, Stockholm - Jan 1, 1998, Mora) was a Swedish speed skater who specialised in long distance events.
Seyffarth set new world records on the 5000 m (8:13.7) in 1941 and on the 3000 m (4:45.7) in 1942. He was number one on the Adelskalender from Feb 4, 1942 until Jan 23, 1952, a period much lengthened because of lack of competition during and in the years after the second world war. He also was one of Sweden's leading cyclists, but in 1943 was injured in a dirt biking accident. Seyffarth's first international win was in the 1947 European Speed skating championships where he won the 5000 m and also the 10000 m.
[edit] The 1948 St.Moritz Olympics
10000 m
In the 1948 Winter Olympics Åke Seyffarth won Olympic gold in 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, however he won with relative ease and by 3.7 seconds.
5000 m Seyffarth seemed to be winning his race until a photographer stepped on to the ice to take a picture of him. By brushing the photographer he lost several seconds and went on to lose his heat and finally come in 7th overall. The winner of the race was Reidar Liaklev (8:29.4) and in second place was Odd Lundberg (8:32.7). Seyffarth's official 5000 m time was 8:37.9.
