Toini Gustafsson

Toini Gustafsson Rönnlund in 2014
Full name Toini Lempi Gustafsson Rönnlund
Born (1938-01-17) 17 January 1938
Suomussalmi, Kainuu, Finland
Height 162 cm (5 ft 4 in)
Ski club IFK Likenäs
Skellefteå SK

Toini Gustafsson Rönnlund (born Toini Karvonen on 17 January 1938) is a former Swedish cross-country skier. She competed in the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics and won four medals. Gustafsson also won the 10 km race at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1960, 1967 and 1968. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships she collected three medals with a silver in 1962 (3×5 km), and two bronzes in 1966 (10 km and 3×5 km).

For her successes in Nordic skiing and at the Holmenkollen, Gustafsson received the Holmenkollen medal in 1967 (Shared with Ole Ellefsæter). She is the first Swedish woman to ever win the Holmenkollen medal. In 1968, she was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.[1]

She was married twice and had a daughter Eva born in 1956. In 1968 she divorced her first husband and married the former Swedish cross-country skier Assar Rönnlund, with whom she had two more children.[2] They became the second husband-wife team to win the Holmenkollen medal (Rönnlund earned the medal in 1968). Additionally, they are the only husband and wife team to ever win the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.[3]

Gustafsson is an ethnic Finn. She was born in Suomussalmi, Finland, but was evacuated to Sweden when she was a child (see Finnish war children). She retired from competitions in 1968 and later worked as a physical education teacher.[3][4]

References

  1. "Bragdmedaljörer genom tiderna" (in Swedish). Svenska dagbladet. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  2. "Assar Rönnlund död" (in Swedish). Svenska dagbladet. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Toini Gustafsson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
  4. Toini Rönnlund. Swedish Olympic Committee
Preceded by
Erik Petterson, Gösta Petterson, Sture Petterson, & Tomas Petterson
Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
1968
Succeeded by
Ove Kindvall
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