Gunde Svan

Gunde Svan
Personal information
Full name	Anders Gunde Svan
Born	(1962-01-12) 12 January 1962 Dala-Järna, Sweden
Professional information
Club	Dala-Järna IK
Skis	Kneissl
World Cup
Seasons	1982-1991
Wins	30
Additional podiums	16
Total podiums	46
Overall titles	5 (1983/84, 1984/85, 1985/86, 1987/88, 1988/89)
Medal record Men's cross-country skiing Competitor for  Sweden Olympic Games Gold 1984 Sarajevo 15 km Gold 1984 Sarajevo 4 x 10 km Gold 1988 Calgary 50 km Gold 1988 Calgary 4 x 10 km Silver 1984 Sarajevo 50 km Bronze 1984 Sarajevo 30 km World Championships Gold 1985 Seefeld 30 km Gold 1985 Seefeld 50 km Gold 1987 Oberstdorf 4 x 10 km Gold 1989 Lahti 15 km freestyle Gold 1989 Lahti 50 km Gold 1989 Lahti 4 x 10 km Gold 1991 Val di Fiemme 30 km Silver 1991 Val di Fiemme 15 km Silver 1991 Val di Fiemme 50 km Silver 1991 Val di Fiemme 4 x 10 km Bronze 1985 Seefeld 4 x 10 km Rallycross European Championships Bronze 1995 ERxC

Gunde Svan (born 12 January 1962 in Dala-Järna, Dalarna County) is a former Swedish cross-country skier and auto racing driver. During his cross-country skiing career he won a total of four gold, one silver and one bronze medals at the Winter Olympics. Svan won a total of seven golds (15 km - 1989; 30 km and 4 x 10 km - 1985, 1991; 50 km - 1985, 1989; and 4 x 10 km - 1987), three silvers (15 km, 50 km, 4 x 10 km (all 1991)), and one bronze (4 x 10 km - 1985) at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Svan also won the 15 km once (1983) and the 50 km twice (1986, 1990) at the Holmenkollen ski festival. In 1984, he earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, and in 1985, he earned the Holmenkollen medal (shared with Anette Bøe and Per Bergerud). He is currently active as a board member of the International Ski Federation.

Biography

During his skiing career he became known for his dedication and attention to details. For instance he used a lighter alloy on the tips of his ski poles saving four grams. He won two golds (15 km and relay), one bronze (30 km) and one silver (50 km) at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, he won two golds for 50 km and relay. He also won the World championship gold six times and won the World cup five times.

As a competitor in rallycross he got one gold medal in the Swedish Championship and a bronze medal in the FIA European Championship for Rallycross Drivers (1995: Division 1 – Group N category; with a Toyota Celica GT-Four). One of the reasons for getting into another sport was that some people called him a natural skier while he himself maintained that it's just a matter of will and dedication, according to his famous tagline "nothing is impossible". He applied the same methods to his driving as his skiing and even built his own reaction-tester to practice the for rallycross eminently important starts.

After retiring from his athletic career he has worked as the host for some game shows such as the Swedish version of American Gladiators, Fort Boyard and Bingolotto. He has played a seductive lady in the short movie En handelsresandes nöd, directed by Svenne Rubin and starring Claes Månsson, Björn Skifs and Gert Klötzke. He has also appeared in numerous commercials including a famous commercial where he impersonated fellow skier Thomas Wassberg.

Svan resigned from his position as Chief of Cross-Country for Sweden on the week of 4 May 2009 after he was involved in its reorganization.

References

• Gunde Svan at the International Ski Federation
• Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
• May 8, 2009 article on changes in cross-country skiing, including Svan's resignation.

External links

Media related to Gunde Svan at Wikimedia Commons