Sweden at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Sweden at the
1908 Summer Olympics
Sweden at the; 1908 Summer Olympics
IOC code	SWE
in London
Competitors	168 in 14 sports
Flag bearer	Erik Granfelt
Medals ; Ranked 3rd	Gold8Silver6Bronze11Total25
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
	1896 ; 1900 ; 1904; 1908 ; 1912 ; 1920 ; 1924 ; 1928 ; 1932 ; 1936 ; 1948 ; 1952 ; 1956 ; 1960 ; 1964 ; 1968 ; 1972 ; 1976 ; 1980 ; 1984 ; 1988 ; 1992 ; 1996 ; 2000 ; 2004 ; 2008 ; 2012 ; 2016 ; 2020 ; 2024 ;
Other related appearances
	1906 Intercalated Games

Last updated January 20, 2026

Sweden competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. It was the third appearance of the European nation, which had missed only the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Gold	Frithiof Mårtensson	Wrestling (Greco-Roman)	Men's middleweight
Gold	Swedish men's team	Gymnastics	Men's team
Gold	Hjalmar Johansson	Diving	Men's 10 m platform
Gold	Ulrich Salchow	Figure skating	Men's singles
Gold	Oscar Swahn	Shooting	Men's single-shot running deer
Gold	Arvid Knöppel Ernst Rosell Alfred Swahn Oscar Swahn	Shooting	Men's team single-shot running deer
Gold	Eric Lemming	Athletics	Men's javelin throw
Gold	Eric Lemming	Athletics	Men's freestyle javelin
Silver	Mauritz Andersson	Wrestling (Greco-Roman)	Men's middleweight
Silver	Karl Malmström	Diving	Men's 10 m platform
Silver	Richard Johansson	Figure skating	Men's singles
Silver	Carl Hellström Edmund Thormählen Erik Wallerius Eric Sandberg Harald Wallin	Sailing	Men's 8 metre class
Silver	Per-Olof Arvidsson Janne Gustafsson Axel Jansson Gustaf Adolf Jonsson Claës Rundberg Gustav-Adolf Sjöberg	Shooting	Men's team free rifle
Silver	Eric Carlberg Vilhelm Carlberg Johan Hübner von Holst Franz-Albert Schartau	Shooting	Men's team small-bore rifle
Bronze	Robert Andersson Erik Bergvall Pontus Hanson Harald Julin Torsten Kumfeldt Axel Runström Gunnar Wennerström	Water polo	Men's competitionGD
Bronze	Märtha Adlerstråhle	Tennis	Women's indoor singles
Bronze	Wollmar Boström Gunnar Setterwall	Tennis	Men's indoor doubles
Bronze	Harald Julin	Swimming	Men's 100 m freestyle
Bronze	Pontus Hanson	Swimming	Men's 200 m breaststroke
Bronze	Arvid Spångberg	Diving	Men's 10 m platform
Bronze	Per Thorén	Figure skating	Men's singles
Bronze	Oscar Swahn	Shooting	Men's double-shot running deer
Bronze	Otto Nilsson	Athletics	Men's freestyle javelin
Bronze	Bruno Söderström	Athletics	Men's pole vault
Bronze	John Svanberg	Athletics	Men's 5 miles

Athletics

Sweden was one of 5 nations to win at least one gold medal in athletics, and one of only three to earn more than one. Sweden's two gold medals placed the nation third in the standings behind the United States and Great Britain.

Running

Event	Place	Athlete	Heats	Semifinals	Final

Men's 100 metres	Heats	Knut Lindberg	11.2 seconds 2nd, heat 8	Did not advance
		Knut Stenborg	11.5 seconds 2nd, heat 7
		Karl Fryksdal	Unknown 3rd, heat 12

Men's 200 metres	Semi- finalist	Sven Låftman	23.8 seconds 1st, heat 6	Did not start —, semifinal 2	Did not advance
	Heats	Knut Stenborg	Unknown 4th, heat 2	Did not advance
	Heats	Knut Lindberg	Unknown 4th, heat 11	Did not advance

Men's 400 metres	Heats	Sven Låftman	Unknown 3rd, heat 4	Did not advance
Men's 400 metres	Heats	Arvid Ringstrand	Unknown 3rd, heat 14	Did not advance

Men's 800 metres	Semi- finalist	Kristian Hellström	None held	Unknown 2nd, semifinal 8	Did not advance
	Semi- finalist	Evert Björn		Unknown 3rd, semifinal 1
	—	Edward Dahl		Did not finish —, semifinal 5
	—	Frank Danielson		Did not finish —, semifinal 6

Men's 1500 metres	Semi- finalist	Edward Dahl	None held	Unknown 2nd, semifinal 8	Did not advance
		Axel Andersson		Unknown 6th, semifinal 8
		Evert Björn		Did not finish —, semifinal 3

Men's 110 metre hurdles	—	Oscar Lemming	Did not finish —, heat 6	Did not advance

Men's medley relay	Semi- finalist	Sven Laftman Knut Lindberg Knut Stenborg Evert Björn	None held	Unknown 2nd, semifinal 1	Did not advance

Men's 3 mile team race	Semi- finalist	John Svanberg	None held	14:57.0 6 points, team=21	Did not advance
		Georg Peterson		15:14.4 7 points, team=21
		Edward Dahl		15:21.0 8 points, team=21
	No place	Axel Wiegandt		15:33.0 No score, team=21
	No place	Seth Landqvist		15:46.4 No score, team=21

Men's 5 miles	3rd	John Svanberg	None held	25:46.2 1st, semifinal 1	25:37.2
	9th	Seth Landqvist		27:00.2 1st, semifinal 3	Unknown
	Heats	Georg Peterson		Unknown 3rd, semifinal 4	Did not advance
	—	Edward Dahl		Did not finish —, semifinal 2	Did not advance

Men's marathon	8th	John Svanberg	None held		3:07:50.8
	21st	Gustaf Törnros			3:30:20.8
	—	Seth Landqvist			Did not finish
		Johan Lindqvist			Did not finish
		J. T. Bergvall			Did not start
		J. G. A. Lundberg			Did not start
		Georg Peterson			Did not start

Men's 3500 metre walk	7th	Einar Rothman	None held	17:40.2 3rd, semifinal 2	17:50.0

Men's 10 mile walk	—	Einar Rothman	None held	Did not finish —, semifinal 2	Did not advance

Jumping

Event	Place	Athlete	Height/ Distance

Men's high jump	8th	Axel Hedenlund	1.80 metres
Men's high jump	16th	Folke Hellstedt	1.67 metres

Men's long jump	10th	Gunnar Rönström	6.66 metres
	20th	Carl Silfverstrand	6.34 metres
	21-32	Arvid Ringstrand	Unknown
	21-32	Hugo Wieslander	Unknown

Men's triple jump	7th	Karl Fryksdal	13.65 metres

Men's pole vault	3rd	Bruno Söderström	3.58 metres
Men's pole vault	10th	Carl Silfverstrand	3.20 metres

Men's standing high jump	14th	Allan Bengtsson	1.40 metres
Men's standing high jump	14th	Karl Fryksdahl	1.40 metres

Men's standing long jump	5th	Ragnar Ekberg	3.19 metres

Throwing

Event	Place	Athlete	Distance

Men's shot put	9-25	Hugo Wieslander	Unknown

Men's discus throw	12-42	Folke Fleetwood	Unknown
		Eric Lemming	Unknown
		Theodor Neijström	Unknown
		Otto Nilsson	Unknown
		Hugo Wieslander	Unknown

Men's hammer throw	8th	Eric Lemming	43.06 metres
Men's hammer throw	10-19	Robert Olsson	Unknown

Men's javelin throw	1st	Eric Lemming	51.92 metres
	3rd	Otto Nilsson	47.11 metres
	8-16	Hugo Wieslander	Unknown

Men's Greek discus	11-23	Folke Fleetwood	Unknown
Men's Greek discus	11-23	Eric Lemming	Unknown

Men's freestyle javelin	1st	Eric Lemming	54.44 metres
	5th	Hugo Wieslander	47.56 metres
	10-33	Knut Lindberg	Unknown
	10-33	Otto Nilsson	Unknown

Cycling

Event	Place	Cyclist	Heats	Semifinals	Final

Men's 660 yards	Heats	Andrew Hansen	Unknown 3rd, heat 6	Did not advance

Men's 20 kilometres	5-9	Andrew Hansen	None held	34:53.6 1st, semifinal 5	Unknown
Men's 20 kilometres	Semi- finalist	Gustaf Westerberg	None held	33:41.4 3rd, semifinal 6	Did not advance

Men's 100 kilometres	9-17	Andrew Hansen	None held	2:50:21.4 1st, semifinal 1	Did not finish
Men's 100 kilometres	9-17	Gustaf Westerberg	None held	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not finish

Men's sprint	Heats	Andrew Hansen	Unknown 2nd, heat 3	Did not advance

Diving

Sweden dominated the platform diving in 1908, taking the top four spots in the event. In addition to the men's competitions, Ebba Gisico participated in a women's diving exhibition along with Valborg Florström of Finland.

Event	Place	Diver	Preliminary groups	Semi- finals	Final

Men's 10 metre platform	1st	Hjalmar Johansson	78.40 points 1st, group 2	80.75 points 1st, semifinal 2	83.75 points
	2nd	Karl Malmström	73.95 points 2nd, group 2	67.00 points 2nd, semifinal 1	78.73 points
	3rd	Arvid Spangberg	79.20 points 1st, group 4	72.30 points 1st, semifinal 1	74.00 points
	4th	Robert Andersson	73.55 points 1st, group 5	66.75 points 2nd, semifinal 2	68.30 points
	8th	Hilmer Löfberg	68.90 points 1st, group 3	59.18 points 4th, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	9th	Harald Arbin	76.80 points 2nd, group 4	52.81 points 5th, semifinal 1	Did not advance
	11th	Erik Adlerz	74.10 points 3rd, group 1	Did not advance
	15th	Gunnar Vingqvist	65.70 points 4th, group 4
	17th	Sigfrid Larsson	64.80 points 3rd, group 3
	20th	Axel Runström	57.60 points 4th, group 5

Men's 3 metre springboard	14th	Karl Malmström	70.30 points 4th, group 3	Did not advance
Men's 3 metre springboard	20th	Sigfrid Larsson	64.50 points 5th, group 4	Did not advance

Fencing

Event	Place	Fencer	First round	Second round	Semi- final	Final

Men's épée	Semi- finalist	Gustaf Lindblom	5-3 (2nd in I)	3-1 (1st in 5)	4-5 (6th in 2)	Did not advance
	First round	Eric Carlberg	3-3 (4th in A)	Did not advance
		Henry Peyron	3-3 (4th in F)
		Birger Cnattingius	1-4 (4th in L)
		Pontus von Rosen	3-4 (5th in A)
		Georg Branting	0-4 (5th in K)
		Gösta Olson	1-5 (6th in L)

Event	Place	Fencers	Play-in match	First round	Semi- finals	Repechage

Men's team épée	6th	Eric Carlberg Gustaf Lindblom Henry Peyron Pontus von Rosen	Bye	Lost to Belgium 11-6 Out 6th place	Did not advance	Not relegated

Figure skating

The Swedish men swept the medals, while the only female Swedish skater took 4th.

Event	Place	Skater	Score

Men's individual	1st	Ulrich Salchow	377.3
	2nd	Richard Johansson	365.2
	3rd	Per Thorén	357.4

Women's individual	4th	Elna Montgomery	170.3

Football

Summary

Key:

W – WinD – DrawL – Loss
A.E.T – After extra time.
RP – Game replayed

Team	Event	First round	Semifinal	Final / BM
Team	Event	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Sweden men's	Men's tournament	Great Britain L 1–12	Did not advance	Netherlands L 0–2	4

Players

Sune Almkvist, Nils Andersson, Karl Ansén, Oskar Bengtsson, Gustaf Bergström, Arvid Fagrell, Åke Fjästad, Karl Gustafsson, Valter Lidén, Hans Lindman (captain), Teodor Malm, Sven Ohlsson, Olle Olsson, Sven Olsson

Gymnastics

Event	Place	Gymnast	Score

Men's team	1st	Gösta Åsbrink, Carl Bertilsson, Andreas Cervin, Hjalmar Cederkrona, Rudolf Degermark, Carl Folcker, Sven Forssman, Erik Granfelt, Carl Hårleman, Nils Hellsten, Gunnar Höjer, Arvid Holmberg, Carl Holmberg, Osvald Holmberg, Hugo Jahnke, John Jarlén, Gustaf Johnsson, Rolf Johnsson, Nils Kantzow, Sven Landberg, Olle Lanner, Axel Jung, Osvald Moberg, Carl Martin Norberg, Erik Norberg, Thor Norberg, Axel Norling, Daniel Norling, Gösta Olsson, Leonard Peterson, Sven Rosén, Gustav Rosenqvist, Axel Sjöblom, Birger Sörvik, Haakon Sörvik, Karl Johan Svensson, Gustav Vinqvist, Nils Widforss	438

Sailing

Class	Place	Boat	Sailors

6 metre	5th	Freja	Karl-Einar Sjögren, Birger Gustafsson, Jonas Jonsson

8 metre	2nd	Vinga	Carl Hellström, Edmund Thormählen, Erik Wallerius, Eric Sandberg, Harald Wallin
8 metre	5th	Saga	John Carlsson, Edvin Hagberg, Hjalmar Lönnroth, Karl Ljungberg, August Olsson

Shooting

Event	Place	Shooter	Score

Men's 1000 yard free rifle	34th	Ossian Jörgensen	77
	43rd	Erik Ohlsson	54
	44th	Fredrik Mossberg	48
	46th	Ernst Rosell	27

Men's 300 metre free rifle	4th	Gustav-Adolf Sjöberg	874
	5th	Janne Gustafsson	872
	7th	Axel Jansson	843
	12th	Per-Olof Arvidsson	823
	15th	Gustaf Adolf Jonsson	812
	23rd	Fredrik Mossberg	761
	28th	Erik Ohlsson	751
	50th	Ossian Jörgensen	420

Men's team free rifle	2nd	Gustaf Adolf Jonsson Per-Olof Arvidsson Axel Jansson Gustav-Adolf Sjöberg Claës Rundberg Janne Gustafsson	4711

Men's team military rifle	5th	Claës Rundberg Ossian Jörgensen Janne Gustafsson Per-Olof Arvidsson Axel Jansson Gustaf Adolf Jonsson	2213

Men's stationary target small-bore rifle	10th	Vilhelm Carlberg	370
Men's stationary target small-bore rifle	18th	Johan Hübner von Holst	349

Men's moving target small-bore rifle	8th	Otto von Rosen	18
	15th	Eric Carlberg	9
		Vilhelm Carlberg	9
		Johan Hübner von Holst	9
	—	Frans-Albert Schartau	Did not finish

Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle	7th	Vilhelm Carlberg	45
	9th	Eric Carlberg	42
		Otto von Rosen	42
		Frans-Albert Schartau	42
	15th	Johan Hübner von Holst	39

Men's team small-bore rifle	2nd	Vilhelm Carlberg Frans-Albert Schartau Johan Hübner von Holst Eric Carlberg	737

Men's single-shot running deer	1st	Oscar Swahn	25
Men's single-shot running deer	11th	Ernst Rosell	17

Men's double-shot running deer	3rd	Oscar Swahn	38
Men's double-shot running deer	8th	Ernst Rosell	27

Men's team single-shot running deer	1st	Alfred Swahn G. Arvid Knöppel Oscar Swahn Ernst Rosell	86

Men's individual pistol	18th	Frans-Albert Schartau	436
	20th	Vilhelm Carlberg	432
	27th	Johan Hübner von Holst	408
	33rd	Eric Carlberg	396
	35th	Otto von Rosen	386

Men's team pistol	5th	Vilhelm Carlberg Eric Carlberg Johan Hübner von Holst Frans-Albert Schartau	1732

Men's individual trap shooting	25th	Alfred Swahn	22
Men's individual trap shooting	27th	Edward Benedicks	19

Swimming

Event	Place	Swimmer	Heats	Semifinals	Final

Men's 100 metre freestyle	3rd	Harald Julin	1:12.0 1st, heat 4	1:10.2 2nd, semifinal 1	1:08.0
Men's 100 metre freestyle	Heats	Robert Andersson	Unknown 3-5, heat 3	Did not advance

Men's 400 metre freestyle	Heats	Robert Andersson	6:28.0 2nd, heat 2	Did not advance
Men's 400 metre freestyle	Heats	Vilhelm Andersson	Unknown 4th, heat 1	Did not advance

Men's 1500 metre freestyle	Heats	Gunnar Wennerström	27:15.4 2nd, heat 1	Did not advance
		Gustaf Wretman	28:40.8 3rd, heat 6
		Vilhelm Andersson	27:34.4 4th, heat 2

Men's 100 metre backstroke	Heats	Gustaf Wretman	Unknown 3rd, heat 6	Did not advance

Men's 200 metre breaststroke	3rd	Pontus Hanson	3:15.0 2nd, heat 4	3:13.0 2nd, semifinal 2	3:14.6
	Semi- finalist	Wilhelm Persson	3:17.6 1st, heat 2	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not advance
	Heats	Hjalmar Johansson	3:21.2 2nd, heat 3	Did not advance
		Per Fjästad	3:31.4 2nd, heat 5
		Torsten Kumfeldt	3:24.6 2nd, heat 6
		Max Gumpel	Unknown 3rd, heat 1
		Adolf Andersson	Unknown 3rd, heat 7

Men's 4x200 metre freestyle relay	Semi- finalist	Gustaf Wretman Gunnar Wennerström Harald Julin Adolf Andersson	None held	Unknown 3rd, semifinal 2	Did not advance

Tennis

Sweden was Great Britain's only competitor in the indoor tennis events, taking two bronze medals.

Event	Place	Name	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final

Men's indoor singles	5th	Wollmar Boström	Bye	Lost to Eaves	Did not advance
Men's indoor singles	5th	Gunnar Setterwall	Defeated Escombe	Lost to Caridia	Did not advance

Women's indoor singles	3rd	Märtha Adlerstråhle	None held	Bye	Lost to Greene	Did not advance
Women's indoor singles	4th	Elsa Wallenberg	None held	Defeated Coles	Lost to Eastlake-Smith	Did not advance

Men's indoor doubles	3rd	Wollmar Boström Gunnar Setterwall	None held	Bye	Lost to Caridia/Simond	Did not advance

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Great Britain	3	5	.375

Total international	3	5	.375
Sweden	1	1	.500

Total	4	6	.400

Tug of war

Sweden's tug of war team lost in the semifinals (their first match). They did not appear for the bronze medal match, thereby taking 4th place.

Event	Place	Athletes	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final

Tug of war	4th	Albrekt Almqwist, Frans Fast, Carl-Emil Johansson, Emil Johansson, Knut Johansson, Karl Krook, Karl-Gustaf Nilsson, Anders Wollgarth	Bye	Lost to Great Britain Liverpool Police	Did not advance

Water polo

Summary

Team	Event	First round	Semifinal	Final	Rank
Team	Event				Rank
Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score
Sweden men	Men's tournament	Bye	Belgium L 4–8	Did not advance

Event	Place	Water poloists	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final

Men's water polo	3rd	Robert Andersson, Erik Bergvall, Pontus Hanson, Harald Julin, Torsten Kumfeldt, Axel Runström, Gunnar Wennerström	Bye	Lost to Belgium 8-4	Did not advance

Wrestling

Event	Place	Wrestler	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final

Greco-Roman lightweight	4th	Gunnar Persson	Bye	Defeated Blount	Defeated Maróthy	Lost to Porro	Lost to Lindén
	5th	Gustaf Malmström	Defeated McKenzie	Defeated Bruseker	Lost to Porro	Did not advance
	9th	Carl Erik Lund	Bye	Lost to Orlov	Did not advance

Greco-Roman middleweight	1st	Frithiof Mårtensson	Defeated Bechynê	Defeated Bradshaw	Defeated Larsson	Defeated Andersen	Defeated Andersson
	2nd	Mauritz Andersson	Defeated S. Bacon	Defeated Beck	Defeated Eriksen	Defeated Jósepsson	Lost to Mårtensson
	5th	Axel Frank	Bye	Defeated Demin	Lost to Jósepsson	Did not advance
	17th	Harry Challstorp	Lost to Beck	Did not advance

Greco-Roman light heavyweight	5th	Fritz Larsson	Defeated Christiansen	Defeated Wijbrands	Lost to Weckman	Did not advance

Event	Place	Wrestler	Round of 16	Quarter- finals	Semi- finals	Final

Freestyle middleweight	4th	Carl Andersson	Bye	Defeated Craige	Lost to Relwyskow	Lost to Beck
Freestyle middleweight	9th	Harry Challstorp	Lost to Relwyskow	Did not advance

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Bohemia	1	0	1.000
Denmark	5	1	.833
Finland	0	2	.000
Great Britain	5	4	.556
Hungary	1	0	1.000
Italy	0	2	.000
Netherlands	2	0	1.000
Russia	1	1	.500
United States	1	0	1.000

Total international	16	10	.615
Sweden	1	1	.500

Total	17	11	.607

Sources

Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
De Wael, Herman (2001). "Top London 1908 Olympians". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2006.
Reyes, Macario (2001). "IV. Olympiad London 1908 Football Tournament". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 May 2006.

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