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Rolf Göran Claeson (born 4 March 1945) is a former speed skater from Sweden.

Göran Claeson
Göran Claeson in 1970
Personal information
Full nameRolf Göran Claeson
Born (1945-03-04) 4 March 1945 (age 79)
Älvsjö, Sweden
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb)
Sport
SportSpeed skating
ClubSödermalms IK, Bromma
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Sapporo 1,500 m

Claeson participated in the 1,500 m at the 1968 Winter Olympics of Grenoble, but finished only 20th.[1] In 1969, at the first European Allround Championships in which Claeson participated, he won bronze. Three weeks later, at the first World Allround Championships in which he participated, he won silver. More international medals followed during the next few years, but none of them were gold. Then, after the 1971–1972 season, two of the world's top skaters, Ard Schenk and Kees Verkerk, joined a newly formed professional league. Another top skater, Dag Fornæss, retired from speed skating. The following season, Claeson promptly became both European and World Allround Champion.

Claeson won several more medals, including a bronze medal on the 1,500 m at the 1972 Winter Olympics of Sapporo.[1] In 1975, he entered the European Allround Championships as the reigning European Champion, but he finished only 11th. He retired from speed skating that same year.

Medals

Claeson WC 1973 (Polygoon Film)

An overview of medals won by Claeson at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:

Championships Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal
Winter Olympics 1972 (1,500 m)
World Allround 1973 1969
1971
1974
World Sprint
European Allround 1973
1974
1969
1970

In addition, Claeson won a total of 25 Swedish National Championships titles:

  • Swedish Championships 1,500 m: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, and 1975.
  • Swedish Championships 5,000 m: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975.
  • Swedish Championships 10,000 m: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974.
  • Swedish Championships Allround: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975.

Records

World record

Over the course of his career, Claeson skated one world record:

Discipline Time Date Location
Big combination 171.758 2 March 1969 Inzell

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[2]

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the column WR lists the official world records on the dates that Claeson skated his personal records.[1]

Event Result Date Venue WR
500 m 39.2 15 January 1972 Davos 38.0
1,000 m 1:20.2 3 March 1971 Notodden 1:18.8
1,500 m 2:00.1 17 January 1971 Inzell 1:58.7
3,000 m 4:17.47 10 January 1973 Misurina 4:08.3
5,000 m 7:17.0 1 March 1969 Inzell 7:16.7
10,000 m 15:18.7 14 February 1971 Gothenburg 15:03.6
Big combination 171.758 2 March 1969 Inzell 172.058

Claeson has an Adelskalender score of 168.868 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was a second place.

References

  1. ^ a b c Göran Claeson. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ "Göran Claeson". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
Awards
Preceded by Oscar Mathisen Award
1973
Succeeded by