Sven ERIKSSON

Sven Selånger, originally Sven Eriksson, competed in Nordic combined and ski jumping but also in alpine skiing during the second half of the 1930s. His international début was at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. After a fifth place in the ski jumping portion of the Nordic combined he placed sixth in the overall standings as the best Swede behind three Norwegians and two Finns. During the 1932 Olympic Games in Lake Placid he again competed in both Nordic combined and ski jumping. In the ski jumping portion of the Nordic combined he came in third place falling back to fifth after the combined cross-country race, behind four Norwegians. In ski jumping, he was fourth just short of the medals. At the 1936 Olympic Winter Games he started as "Selånger" for the first time, a name which he had taken from his hometown, changing his name to be distinguished from the many Swedish Erikssons. At Garmisch-Partenkirchen he won the ski jump silver medal, his only one at the Olympics, just 1.5 points behind the winner Birger Ruud. Eriksson/Selånger was the Swedish flag bearer at Lake Placid and Garmisch.

Sven Eriksson participated in the 1931 World Ski Championships winning a bronze medal in ski jumping, again behind Ruud and Switzerland’s Fritz Kaufmann. At the 1933 World he won gold in the Nordic combined competition as well as a bronze medal in ski jumping, but with Norway not competing. In the 1934 World Cup at home in Sollefteå, he took his third consecutive bronze medal in ski jumping. He took his fourth bronze medal in 1941 at the World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo. His victory at the Holmenkollen in ski jumping was the first by a non-Norwegian. For this he was awarded the Holmenkollen medal together with Lars Bergendahl and Trygve Brodahl, the first of only nine Swedes to receive this thru 2013. He was also honored in 1939 by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet with a gold medal for his Holmenkollen victory. In alpine skiing, Eriksson/Selånger won the 1938 Swedish Championship. In Nordic combined he won three Swedish titles, winning eight ski jumping national championships between 1928-41. As early as the 1920s he was also a keen bandy player at home in Sundsvall. After his skiing career, he was player-coach in bandy for IK Viking and became a sporting goods trader.