Tomas GUSTAFSON

At the 1984 Sarajevo Games, speed skater Tomas Gustafson won a gold medal in the 5,000m and silver in the 10,000m. In the first race, he beat Igor Malkov by only one-fiftieth of a second. In the second race he lost to Malkov by one-twentieth of a second.

Physical and personal setbacks bring him to gold

Between Games, Gustafson struggled through knee surgery, meningitis and the death of his father. During 5,000m race at the Olympic Games in Calgary in 1988, Gustafson trailed Leo Visser's pace by eight hundredths of a second with only 400m to go. However he skated an exceptional final lap to win by a third of a second. In the 10,000m, Gustafson finally gained an easy victory, setting a world record and winning by almost eight seconds.

An Olympic couple

In 1998, Gustafson's wife, Elisabet, won a bronze medal in curling.