 Gustafson in 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Swedish | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Sven Tomas Gustafson 28 December 1959 (1959-12-28) (age 65) Katrineholm, Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Elisabet Gustafson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Sweden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Speed skating | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 500 m: 38.10 (1990) 1000 m: 1:18.48 (1981) 1500 m: 1:53.22 (1990) 3000 m: 4:03.17 (1987) 5000 m: 6:44.51 (1987) 10 000 m: 13:48.20 (1988) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Sven Tomas Gustafson (born 28 December 1959) is a retired Swedishspeed skater and distance skater, active in the 1980s, who won several events and set world records.
Born inKatrineholm, he won theWorld Junior Championships title inGrenoble, France, in 1979. A year later, at the European Championships for seniors, he finished 4th. The following month, he participated in the1980 Winter Olympics atLake Placid, New York, US achieving a 7th place finish in the 1500 m as his best performance. Later that same month, he defended his Junior World title.
In 1982, he became allround European Champion inOslo, where he set a 10,000 mworld record. As of 2017[update] this was the last outdoor world record for men on a lowland track.[citation needed] For this performance, he was awarded theOscar Mathisen Award for the best skating performance of the season. A year later, on the same track, he won silver at theWorld Allround Championships, finishing second behindRolf Falk-Larssen. Gustafson had the better allround point total (samalog), but Falk-Larssen was declared champion due to a rule stating that a skater winning three of the four distances and finishing the fourth was automatically pronounced the champion. This result caused a renewed debate about the three-distance-wins rule, which was subsequently abolished. From 1984 onwards, the champion was determined by the skater with most allround points.
The following year, his focus shifted from the World Allround Championships to the1984 Winter Olympics atSarajevo. He won Olympic gold in the 5,000 m, finishing just two hundredths of a second ahead of Soviet skaterIgor Malkov. In the 10,000 m he again faced a close finish with Malkov, this time losing by five hundredths of a second. Following these Olympics, Gustafson underwent knee surgery, contractedmeningitis, and his father died.[1]
In January 1988, he won the European Allround Championships inThe Hague, the only speedskater to win at all four distances since the Second World War. His rival Malkov had retired, and Gustafson focused on outpacing long-distance skaters such as DutchmenLeo Visser andGerard Kemkers and Austrian skaterMichael Hadschieff. Gustafson first succeeded in the 5000 m. He trailed Leo Visser's pace by eight hundredths of a second with only 400 m remaining but skated a strong final lap to win by one third of a second. Four days later, he won Olympic gold again, this time in the 10,000 m, setting a new world record time of 13:48.20, broken three years later byJohann Olav Koss. Gustafson received the Oscar Mathisen Award again for his 1988 performances. He also earned theSvenska Dagbladet Gold Medal and theJerring Award.[2]
Gustafson's only notable achievement after the1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary was a second-place finish behindBart Veldkamp in the 1990 European Allround Championships. At the1992 Winter Olympics inAlbertville, he only took part in the 5000 m race, finishing 13th; this was Gustafson's last international race.
Gustafson is married to curlerElisabet Gustafson.[1]
Gustafson set twoworld records:
| Discipline | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 m | 14:23.59 | January 31, 1982 | Oslo |
| 10,000 m | 13:48.20 | February 21, 1988 | Calgary |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[3]
| Distance | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 38.10 | 19 January 1990 | Heerenveen |
| 1000 m | 1:18.48 | 15 March 1981 | Savalen |
| 1500 m | 1:53.22 | 8 December 1990 | Calgary |
| 3000 m | 4:03.17 | 26 December 1987 | Inzell |
| 5000 m | 6:44.51 | 4 December 1987 | Calgary |
| 10,000 m | 13:48.20 | 21 February 1988 | Calgary |
| Big combination | 160.347 | 21 January 1990 | Heerenveen |
Gustafson holds anAdelskalender score of 157.701 points. In March 1988, he reached third place in the ranking, behindEric Flaim andMichael Hadschieff. After improving his personal best time in the 1500 metres distance in December 1990, he reached second place. Gustafson was ranked among the top 3 for 1468 days.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oscar Mathisen Award 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Oscar Mathisen Award 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal 1988 | Succeeded by |
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