Arne Ljungqvist

Arne Ljungqvist

Arne Ljungqvist in 2010
Personal information
Born 23 April 1931 (1931-04-23) (age 84)
Stockholm, Sweden
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) High jump
Club Westermalms IF, Stockholm
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 2.01 m (1952)[1]

Arne Ljungqvist (born 23 April 1931) is a Swedish medical researcher, sports personality and retired high jumper. Ljungqvist is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), chairman of IOC's Medical Commission, and vice chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).[2][3][4]

Biography

In his youth, Arne Ljungqvist competed in the high jump, javelin throw and decathlon. In 1952 he won the national high jump title and finished 15th at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[5] He then left competitive sports to complete his medical training.[1]

Academic career

After his medical studies, Ljungqvist was appointed professor, 1972–1983, and has made medical research in the fields of renal and cardiovascular diseases and, later, oncology at the Karolinska Institute. In the last years of his academic career, he was rector of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm from 1992 to 1996, an institution which has close collaboration with the Karolinska Institute in the field of sports medicine. He ended his professional career as President of the Swedish Cancer Society, 1992–2001.

Sports official

In the 1970s, he took on several roles as a sports official, first on the national level in Sweden and soon after in international organizations. He became a council member of the Swedish Athletic Association in 1970, and was its president from 1973 to 1981. He became a council member of the umbrella organization for Swedish sport, the Swedish Sports Confederation, in 1975, and was its president from 1991[6] to 2001. His international career as a sports official started when he became a council member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 1976. He was one of IAAF's vice presidents from 1981 to 1999, and IAAF's senior vice president 1999–2007.

In 1994, he was elected a member of the IOC, and became the chairman of its Medical Commission in 2003.[1]

Sports medicine and anti-doping work

Drawing benefit of his combined medical and sports background, Arne Ljungqvist was president of the Swedish Council of Sports Research from 1980 to 1993. In 1987, he became a member of IOC's Medical Commission, which has chaired since 2003. In these positions, Ljungqvist took notice of the increasing problems of doping in competitive sports, and its health consequences, and became a leading figure in anti-doping work. He became a board member of WADA when it was created in 1999, and later its vice chairman. He is also chairman of WADA's Health, Medical & Research Committee. Since 2008 he is the vice President of WADA.[7]

In 2001 he received the KTH Grand Prize and in 2009 he was awarded the Sports Academy Honorary Award.

Professional positions

Other positions

Past and present offices in Swedish sport

Past and present positions in International sport

Competitive sports career

Represented Sweden at the Olympic Games in Helsinki 1952 and was amongst the top three ranked high jumpers in Europe.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arne Ljungqvist.
  1. 1 2 3 Arne Ljungqvist. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ IOC Member page at Olympic.org for Professor Arne Ljungqvist, accessed on 25 June 2008
  3. ↑ WADA Management Biographies: Prof. Arne Ljungqvist, accessed on 25 June 2008
  4. ↑ WADA: Executive Committee, accessed on 25 June 2008
  5. ↑ Arne Ljungqvist 1931-04-23. storagrabbar.se
  6. ↑ "Idrottshistoria i punkter" (in Swedish). Swedish Sports Confederation. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  7. ↑ WADA: Health, Medical & Research Committee, accessed on 25 June 2008
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