Lennart Hedmark
Encyclopedia
Lennart Per-Olav Hedmark (born 18 May 1944 in Skellefteå
) is a retired Swedish
track and field
athlete who competed in the decathlon
. He represented his country three times at the Summer Olympics (1968, 1972 and 1976).
He started his career as a javelin throw
specialist and claimed three straight titles in the event at the Swedish Championships from 1963 to 1965. He was selected to compete at the 1964 Summer Olympics
, but did not start the competition. His first international medal came at the 1965 Summer Universiade
, where he was the bronze medal
list.
Hedmark changed his focus to combined events in 1967 and he was one of his region's dominant athletes over his career: he had four consecutive victories in the Nordic Combined Events Championships from 1967 to 1970, and in a decade of national competition he won seven Swedish decathlon titles in addition to five titles in the pentathlon
. At the 1968 Summer Olympics
he came eleventh in the decathlon. International medals came at the 1970 Summer Universiade
, where he took the silver
behind Mykola Avilov
, and at the 1971 European Athletics Championships, finishing as runner-up to the defending champion Joachim Kirst
.
He made his second Olympic appearance at the 1972 Munich Games
, but he did not manage to finish the competition. The following year he was the inaugural winner of the European Combined Events Cup. His best performance of the year came in Bonn
and his total of 8163 points was the best by any athlete that year. Hedmark's final major appearance came at the 1976 Summer Olympics
and had his best Olympic outing with a score of 8002 for eighth place.
Although he never won a major title, Hedmark's career was one of the most prolific as he competed in a total of 76 combined events competitions. This was the greatest number ever for a top level athlete at the time and remains among the highest totals; Kip Janvrin
bettered this achievement and was himself succeeded by Roman Šebrle
, who completed over 100 appearances. Hedmark is now the fourth most prolific combined eventer after Janvrin, Šebrle and Tomáš Dvořák
.
He married Briton Linda Knowles
, a fellow top class European athlete.
Skellefteå
-Industry:*Boliden AB, a big mining and smelting company*Alimak*Natural User Interface Technologies AB - NUITEQ, a promising emerging technology start-up company-Sports:*Skellefteå AIK, an ice hockey team in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien....
) is a retired Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete who competed in the decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
. He represented his country three times at the Summer Olympics (1968, 1972 and 1976).
He started his career as a javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
specialist and claimed three straight titles in the event at the Swedish Championships from 1963 to 1965. He was selected to compete at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the athletics competition included 36 events, 24 for men and 12 for women. The women's 400 metres and women's pentathlon events were newly introduced at these Games. There were a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 82 countries.-Men's...
, but did not start the competition. His first international medal came at the 1965 Summer Universiade
Athletics at the 1965 Summer Universiade
Athletics events were contested at the 1965 Summer Universiade in Budapest, Hungary.-Men’s events:-Women’s events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics...
, where he was the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
list.
Hedmark changed his focus to combined events in 1967 and he was one of his region's dominant athletes over his career: he had four consecutive victories in the Nordic Combined Events Championships from 1967 to 1970, and in a decade of national competition he won seven Swedish decathlon titles in addition to five titles in the pentathlon
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five different events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente and -athlon . The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Ancient Olympic Games...
. At the 1968 Summer Olympics
Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics
At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 36 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 12 for women. There were a total number of 1031 participating athletes from 93 countries....
he came eleventh in the decathlon. International medals came at the 1970 Summer Universiade
Athletics at the 1970 Summer Universiade
Athletics events were contested at the 1970 Summer Universiade in Turin, Italy.-Men’s events:-Women’s events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics...
, where he took the silver
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
behind Mykola Avilov
Mykola Avilov
Mykola Avilov is a former Ukrainian Soviet decathlete.Avilov trained at Dynamo in Odessa. He won a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics decathlon with a new world record of 8454 points. He returned to win a bronze medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics...
, and at the 1971 European Athletics Championships, finishing as runner-up to the defending champion Joachim Kirst
Joachim Kirst
Joachim Kirst is a retired East German decathlete.He competed for the sports club ASK Potsdam during his active career.-Achievements:-References:...
.
He made his second Olympic appearance at the 1972 Munich Games
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
, but he did not manage to finish the competition. The following year he was the inaugural winner of the European Combined Events Cup. His best performance of the year came in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and his total of 8163 points was the best by any athlete that year. Hedmark's final major appearance came at the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
and had his best Olympic outing with a score of 8002 for eighth place.
Although he never won a major title, Hedmark's career was one of the most prolific as he competed in a total of 76 combined events competitions. This was the greatest number ever for a top level athlete at the time and remains among the highest totals; Kip Janvrin
Kip Janvrin
Kip Janvrin is a former American decathlete. Janvrin is a native of Panora, Iowa and is currently the Co-Head Track & Field Coach at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.-College career:...
bettered this achievement and was himself succeeded by Roman Šebrle
Roman Šebrle
Roman Šebrle is an athlete from the Czech Republic. He is considered to be one of the best decathlon athletes of all time. Originally a high jumper, he competes in decathlon and heptathlon for team TJ Dukla Praha and is a world record holder in the decathlon...
, who completed over 100 appearances. Hedmark is now the fourth most prolific combined eventer after Janvrin, Šebrle and Tomáš Dvořák
Tomáš Dvorák
Tomáš Dvořák is an athlete from the Czech Republic. He competed in decathlon and heptathlon for the team Dukla Prague. He is triple decathlon world champion and a former world record holder , which is still second performance in all-time list...
.
He married Briton Linda Knowles
Linda Knowles
Linda Yvonne Knowles is a retired track and field athlete, who represented Great Britain in the women's high jump event at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She won the bronze medal at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.She married the Swedish decathlete Lennart...
, a fellow top class European athlete.