Hans BERGLUND

Hans Berglund was already a successful kayaker prior to World War II, winning a silver medal (in the K2 1,000 m with the non-Olympian Kurt Boo) at the inaugural World Canoeing Championships in 1938. Ten years later, he paired up with Lennart Klingström to win the Olympic gold in that same category. With the two kayakers from the Swedish 10,000 m boat (Gunnar Åkerlund and Hans Wetterström, also champions), they also formed the winning quartet in the K4 1,000 m event. At the time, that event did not have Olympic status, but it did earn them a World Championship gold medal. Hans passed on his canoeing talent to his son, Bo Berglund, who also competed in the K2 1,000 m at the 1972 Olympics, although he did not make the final.