Gehnäll Persson
Persson at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Born21 August 1910
Steneby, Sweden
Died16 July 1976 (aged 65)
Köping, Sweden
Sport
SportHorse riding
ClubK4 IF, Umeå
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1952 HelsinkiDressage, Team
Gold medal – first place1956 StockholmDressage, Team

Gehnäll Persson (21 August 1910 – 16 July 1976) was a Swedish Army fanjunkare and equestrian.

Career

Persson was born on 21 August 1910 in Steneby, Sweden, the son of Sven Persson and Bertha Andersson.[1]

He competed in dressage at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won team gold medals in 1952 and 1956; he finished fourth individually in 1956.[2][3]

At the 1948 Olympics the Swedish team won with a wide margin and received gold medals. The team was disqualified in 1949 after it was found that Persson was only a fanjunkare, temporarily promoted to the rank of lieutenant specifically to circumvent the "Officers and Gentlemen only" eligibility rule at the time.[4] Later that year the International Federation for Equestrian Sports relaxed its eligibility rule to allow non-commissioned ranks (and women) to compete.[5][6]

Personal life

In 1938, he married Ruth Jansson (born 1914), the daughter of Richard Jansson and Elin Larsson. He was the father of Lars Ove (born 1943) and Anders (born 1951).[1]

Awards and decorations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1964). Vem är vem?. 2, Svealand utom Stor-Stockholm [Who is Who?. 2, Svealand excluding Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Bokförlaget Vem är vem. p. 651.
  2. ↑ Gehnäll Persson Archived 7 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  3. ↑ Gehnäll Persson. Swedish Olympic Committee
  4. ↑ 1948 Overwiew. 100 Years of Equestrian Sport in the Olympic Movement. International Equestrian Federation. Retrieved 8 August 2016
  5. ↑ Lynch, Steven. "Who was disqualified from his event at the Olympics because he wasn't of sufficiently high rank in the army?". www.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Equestrianism at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Dressage, Team Archived 16 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
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