Gert Fridolf Fredriksson (November 21, 1919, in Nyköping, Södermanland, – July 5, 2006) was a Swedish sprint canoer who competed from 1942 to 1964. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won eight medals including six golds (1948: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 m; 1952: K-1 1000 m, 1956: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 m; 1960: K-2 1000 m), one silver (1952: K-1 10000 m), and one bronze (K-1 1000 m). At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Fredriksson was head coach of the Swedish team.
He was the most successful male canoeist ever, having gained medals in a succession of Swedish, Nordic, World and Olympic championships from 1942 - 1960. Fredriksson remains the most successful Swede at the Olympics, winning six gold medals at four Olympics.
He also won seven gold medals at the World Championships and 71 medals in the Swedish championships.
Fredriksson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1949. In 1956 he was awarded the Mohammad Taher trophy by the International Olympic Committee as the number one sportsman in the world, the only canoeist to be presented with this trophy.
| Year | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1946-1955 | K-1 500 m | 2 | ||
| K-1 1000 m | 5 | |||
| K-1 10000 m | 5 | |||
| K-1 4 x 500 m relay | 5 | |||
| Total | 17 |
| Year | Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1942-1960 | K-1 500 m | 1 | 1 | |
| K-1 1000 m | 16 | 1 | 1 | |
| K-1 10000 m | 15 | 1 | ||
| Total | 32 | 2 | 2 |
Famous quotes containing the word gert:
“There’s a wonderful family called Stein:
There’s Gert and there’s Ep and there’s Ein.
Gert’s poems are bunk,
Ep’s statues are junk,
And no-one can understand Ein.”
—Anonymous.