Swedish · Nyköping, Sweden · Born 21 November 1919 · Died 2006-07-05Swedish sprint kayaker regarded as the most successful male canoeist in Olympic history, winning six gold medals across four Games spanning 1948 to 1960.
Gert Fridolf Fredriksson was born on 21 November 1919 in Nyköping, Sweden, and rose through Swedish, Nordic, and World rankings from 1942 onward, though the Second World War delayed his Olympic debut until age 28. At the 1948 London Olympics, Fredriksson swept the K-1 1,000m and K-1 10,000m titles, winning the latter by 30.5 seconds - still one of the largest margins in the event's Olympic history. Fredriksson defended his 1,000m title at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, adding a silver in the 10,000m, then delivered a second sweep of the 1,000m and 10,000m at the 1956 Melbourne Games. He capped his Olympic career at the 1960 Rome Olympics with gold in the K-2 1,000m, becoming the only Swede in history to win gold at four separate Olympic Games. Across his career, he also won seven World Championship gold medals and 71 Swedish national titles, and in 1956 became the only canoeist ever awarded the Mohammed Taher Trophy, given by the IOC to the world's top all-round sportsman. Fredriksson remained competitive well into his forties - by most accounts still good enough to make Sweden's 1968 Olympic squad - but chose to become head coach of the Swedish canoe team at the 1964 Tokyo Games instead. He died on 5 July 2006 in his hometown of Nyköping, aged 86, remembered as the most decorated Swedish Olympian in any sport and the benchmark against which all subsequent canoe sprint champions have been measured.
Being the most successful male canoeist in Olympic history, winning six gold medals across four Games from 1948 to 1960
How They Played
Powerful distance and middle-distance specialist known for exceptional endurance and closing speed across both the 1,000m and grueling 10,000m events
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as the greatest canoe sprint racer of all time and the most successful Swedish Olympian in any sport, his four-Olympics gold streak remaining a benchmark for the sport
Career Honours
- 6x Olympic Gold Medalist (1948x2, 1952, 1956x2, 1960)
- 8 Olympic medals - most successful Swedish Olympian ever
- 7x World Champion
- Only canoeist to win the IOC's Mohammed Taher Trophy (1956)
Swedish Athletes