Richard Dahl
 Richard Dahl (left) and Stig Pettersson at the 1958 European Championships | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
5 August 1933 Landskrona, Sweden | |||||||||
| Died | 8 August 2007 (aged 74) | |||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||
| Event(s) | High jump | |||||||||
| Club |
IF Kronan SoIK Hellas Södertälje IF[1] | |||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 2.12 m (1958) | |||||||||
Medal record
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Richard Dahl (also known as Rickard Dahl; 5 August 1933 – 8 August 2007) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. His short-lived career was defined by a surprise win at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in a Swedish record of 2.12 m (6 ft 111⁄4 in).
Career
In 1957 Dahl won his first significant medal, a silver at the national championships behind Stig Pettersson, the leading Swedish jumper of the era. Both repeated that placing the following year.[2]
At the 1958 European Athletics Championships, held in Stockholm, Dahl set a Swedish record and championship record at 2.12 m (6 ft 111⁄4 in), beating Jiří Lanský and Stig Pettersson.[3] He became the fourth, and thus far the last Swede to win the title, following Kurt Lundqvist, Anton Bolinder and Bengt Nilsson.[4]
For his performance he was given the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal, recognising it as the best Swedish sports achievement that year. He was designated Stora grabbars märke number 200 in athletics for his contributions to Swedish sport.[1]
Dahl won two more international medals – a bronze at the 1959 International University Games (clearing two metres) and a silver at the inaugural Nordic Athletics Championships (where he lost to Petterssen by ten centimetres).[5][6] His final achievement of note was a third place at the Swedish Championships in 1960. After retiring from competition, he became a sports journalist for the local paper Länstidningen Södertälje, and later for the regional Nordvästra Skånes Tidningar.[7]
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Dahl. |
- 1 2 Medlemmar (Swedish). Stora grabbar. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ Swedish Athletics Lists. Swedish Athletics Federation. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ In memoriam: Richard Dahl (Swedish). Fridrott.se (2007-08-19). Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ European Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ Nordic Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ↑ EM-guldmedaljören Richard Dahl död (Swedish). Sydsvenskan (2007-08-08). Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
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