Sigvard Ericsson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sigvard Ericsson

Sigge Ericsson in 1956
Personal information
Birth name	John Sigvard Ericsson
Nickname(s)	Sigge
Nationality	Swedish
Born	(1930-07-17)17 July 1930 Alanäset, Sweden
Died	2 November 2019(2019-11-02) (aged 89)
Sport
Country	Sweden
Sport	Speed skating
Club	IF Castor, Östersund
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 44.0 (1955) 1000 m: 1:31.0 (1958) 1500 m: 2:11.0 (1956) 3000 m: 4:45.3 (1956) 5000 m: 7:56.7 (1956) 10 000 m: 16:35.9 (1956)
Medal record Representing  Sweden Olympic Games Gold 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 10000 m Silver 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 5000 m World championships Gold 1955 Moscow Allround European championships Bronze 1954 Davos Allround Gold 1955 Falun Allround Bronze 1956 Helsinki Allround

John Sigvard "Sigge" Ericsson (born July 17, 1930, died November 2, 2019) was a famous speed skater from Sweden. He was a top athlete who competed in the Winter Olympics in 1952 and 1956. In 1956, he won two important medals: a gold and a silver.

Sigge Ericsson: A Speed Skating Champion

Sigge's Early Skating Career

Sigge Ericsson began competing in international speed skating events in 1951. He took part in the European Speed Skating Championships, but he didn't make it to the final race that year. The next year, he tried again and also competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics. It took a few more years for him to win his first international medals.

The Rise of Soviet Skaters

In 1953, speed skaters from the Soviet Union started competing internationally again after World War II. They were incredibly strong and quickly became the best in the world. By 1954, most world records in speed skating were held by Soviet athletes. Many of these records were set on the very fast ice at the Medeo rink in Almaty.

Two of the best Soviet skaters at that time were Oleg Goncharenko and Boris Shilkov. They had won gold and silver medals at the 1953 and 1954 World Allround Speed Skating Championships. This made them the top favorites for the 1954 European Allround Championships.

First International Medals

At the 1954 European Championships, Boris Shilkov became the champion. Oleg Goncharenko finished fourth. Sigge Ericsson, however, won the bronze medal, coming in ahead of Goncharenko. This was Sigge's very first international medal!

The next year, 1955, was amazing for Sigge. He became the European Allround Champion. He beat Shilkov, who took silver, and Dmitry Sakunenko, who won bronze. This was a big deal because Sigge was the first person to stop the Soviet skaters from winning gold at international events since they had returned to the sport two years earlier.

Just two weeks later, Sigge Ericsson became the World Allround Champion in Moscow, Russia. He beat Goncharenko (silver) and Shilkov (bronze) right on their home ground, which was a huge victory!

Olympic Success in 1956

Sigge then competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 5000-meter race, finishing behind the world record holder Boris Shilkov. Oleg Goncharenko won the bronze.

Two days later, Sigge raced in the 10,000-meter event. This was one of the few distances where a Soviet skater didn't hold the world record. Knut Johannesen from Norway skated a very fast time of 16 minutes and 36.9 seconds. It looked like he would win the gold medal. But Sigge Ericsson managed to skate even faster, beating Johannesen's time by one second! Sigge set a new Olympic record and became the Olympic Champion in the 10,000 meters.

Later Career and Awards

Later in February 1956, Sigge finished sixth at the World Allround Championships. He also won a bronze medal at the European Allround Championships that year.

In the next season, Sigge decided not to compete in the 1957 European Championships. Instead, he focused on the World Allround Championships held in Östersund, Sweden, which was his home area. However, he finished in a disappointing ninth place. After this, he did not compete internationally again.

In 1955, Sigge Ericsson was given the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. This is a very important award in Sweden for sports achievements.

National Championships

Sigge Ericsson won many titles in Swedish national championships. He earned 11 national titles in total:

• Swedish Championships 1500 m: 1954, 1955, and 1956.
• Swedish Championships 5000 m: 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956.
• Swedish Championships 10000 m: 1952, 1954, 1955, and 1956.

It's interesting to know that Sweden did not have "National Allround Championships" from 1935 to 1962. They only had championships for single distances, like the 1500m or 5000m.

Personal Records

Here are Sigge Ericsson's best times in different speed skating distances. The last column shows the official world record (WR) at the time he set his personal best. This helps us see how close he was to the world's fastest times.

Sigge Ericsson had an Adelskalender score of 185.131 points. The Adelskalender is a special ranking system in speed skating that combines a skater's best times from different distances. His highest ranking on this list was fifth place in the world.