Richard Dahl (also known as Rickard Dahl; 5 August 1933 – 8 August 2007) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. His short-lived career was defined by a surprise win at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in a Swedish record of 2.12 m (6 ft 11+1⁄4 in).
 Richard Dahl (left) and Stig Pettersson at the 1958 European Championships | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 5 August 1933 Landskrona, Sweden | |||||||||||
| Died | 8 August 2007 (aged 74) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event | High jump | |||||||||||
| Club | IF Kronan SoIK Hellas Södertälje IF[1] | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best | 2.12 m (1958)[2] | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editIn 1957 Dahl won his first significant medal, a silver at the national championships behind Stig Pettersson, the leading Swedish jumper of the era. Both repeated that placing the following year.[3]
At the 1958 European Athletics Championships, held in Stockholm, Dahl set a Swedish record and championship record at 2.12 m (6 ft 11+1⁄4 in), beating Jiří Lanský and Stig Pettersson.[4] He became the fourth, and thus the latest male Swede to win the title, following Kurt Lundqvist, Anton Bolinder and Bengt Nilsson.[5] For this performance he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal and designated the Stora grabbars märke number 200 in athletics.[1]
Dahl won two more international medals – a bronze at the 1959 International University Games (clearing two metres) and a silver at the inaugural Nordic Athletics Championships (where he lost to Petterssen by ten centimetres).[6][7] His final achievement of note was a third place at the Swedish Championships in 1960. After retiring from competition, he became a sports journalist for the local paper Länstidningen Södertälje, and later for the regional Nordvästra Skånes Tidningar.[8]
References
edit
- ^ a b Richard Dahl 1933-2007 (in Swedish). Stora grabbar. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
- ^ Rickard Dahl. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ Swedish Athletics Lists. Swedish Athletics Federation. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
- ^ In memoriam: Richard Dahl (in Swedish). Fridrott.se (19 August 2007). Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
- ^ European Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
- ^ WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UIE). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
- ^ Nordic Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
- ^ EM-guldmedaljören Richard Dahl död (in Swedish). Sydsvenskan (8 August 2007). Retrieved on 2014-10-18.