Linda Haglund
Encyclopedia
Linda Haglund is a former Swedish
Olympic sprinter
, born June 15, 1956 in Enskede
, Sweden
.
, at the age of 13. She showed great promise as a future sprinting star by recording, barefoot, 12.7 for 100 m
at her first meet representing Hansvikens SK. Haglund's precocious talent was displayed on an international stage at the European Championships of 1971, held in Helsinki
, Finland
. She was named on the Swedish track and field team that competed in Helsinki that year. She was 15 at the time and acknowledged as the youngest athlete of the meet. One year later, Haglund was appointed to the first of three Swedish Olympic teams: Munich, 1972. Her running career would take her to the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games
, as well as those held in Moscow in 1980
. Haglund had her best Olympic Games' showing with a fourth place in the Moscow Games' 100 m final.
Haglund can lay claim to other outstanding sprinting accomplishments, including participation in World Cups of 1979 (Montreal) and 1981 (Rome). She was a five-time medalist at European Championships held in 1976 (Gold), 1978 (Silver), 1978 (Silver), 1980 (Silver), and 1981 (Silver). Haglund was the captain for many years of the women's track and field team in Sweden and still holds Swedish records for 100M - 11.16 (1980), 200M - 22.82 (1978), and 60M - 7.13 (1978). Haglund was one of very few sprinters to have beaten Evelyn Ashford
. Haglund ran 11.06 (wind-aided) to better Jarmila Kratochvílová
's 11.18 and Ashford's 11.25 in a 1981 meet in Berlin
. Haglund was rated 2nd, 5th, and 7th in world rankings during her running career.
in 1982. Hans Holmer and Haglund traveled to Jamaica to prove her innocent, with the right evidence for her not being charged in the matter, but in the 80s, there was other laws for sport than in society, Haglund and Holmer never regretted the "trip" it still was a victory for them to see and an eye opener for the world of sport. Hans Holmer
, later to become known as the Chief of Special Investigation in the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme
in 1986, was a principal in Haglund's defense, alongside Ulf Ekelund, the General Secretary of the Swedish Track and Field Federation.
Haglund belongs to the Legends of "1956", a sports fraternity of outstanding Swedish athletes born in 1956: Björn Borg
, Ingmar Stenmark, and Frank Andersson
. She is an honored member of the Swedish Sports Academy consisting of 100 athletes in 100 years of Swedish sport from 1899 to 1999 and was awarded Victoriastipendiet
in 1981.
Haglund is a painter and designer - have had several exhibitions. She is inspired by Chagall, Russian born painter. Linda Haglund - linda gazelle design is inspired by Danish and Swedish design - the beauty of Scandinavia.
She penned a book on health and wellness, Lindas må bra bok (Linda's feel good book), published by Prisma in 2007 and writes poetry listed at www.gigihamilton.com.
Haglund is related to the singer and actor Otto Brandenburg of Denmark. And Tom Elling writer and film-photographer of Denmark.
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....
Olympic sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
, born June 15, 1956 in Enskede
Enskede
Enskede may refer to*The districts of Gamla Enskede in Enskede-Årsta-Vantör borough, Stockholm*Enskededalen, a district of Stockholm's Skarpnäck borough*Enskede gård in Söderort, Stockholm...
, Sweden
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....
.
Running career
Haglund became a member of Hanvikens SK, a track and field club located just south of StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, at the age of 13. She showed great promise as a future sprinting star by recording, barefoot, 12.7 for 100 m
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
at her first meet representing Hansvikens SK. Haglund's precocious talent was displayed on an international stage at the European Championships of 1971, held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. She was named on the Swedish track and field team that competed in Helsinki that year. She was 15 at the time and acknowledged as the youngest athlete of the meet. One year later, Haglund was appointed to the first of three Swedish Olympic teams: Munich, 1972. Her running career would take her to the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games
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...
, as well as those held in Moscow in 1980
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. Haglund had her best Olympic Games' showing with a fourth place in the Moscow Games' 100 m final.
Haglund can lay claim to other outstanding sprinting accomplishments, including participation in World Cups of 1979 (Montreal) and 1981 (Rome). She was a five-time medalist at European Championships held in 1976 (Gold), 1978 (Silver), 1978 (Silver), 1980 (Silver), and 1981 (Silver). Haglund was the captain for many years of the women's track and field team in Sweden and still holds Swedish records for 100M - 11.16 (1980), 200M - 22.82 (1978), and 60M - 7.13 (1978). Haglund was one of very few sprinters to have beaten Evelyn Ashford
Evelyn Ashford
Evelyn Ashford is a retired American athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100 m. She has run under the 11 second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in an Olympic Games.As a 19-year-old, Ashford finished 5th in the 100 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics...
. Haglund ran 11.06 (wind-aided) to better Jarmila Kratochvílová
Jarmila Kratochvílová
Jarmila Kratochvílová is a Czech former sprinter and middle distance runner. In 1983, she set world record times for both the 400 metres and 800 metres, and won gold medals in both distances at the World Championships....
's 11.18 and Ashford's 11.25 in a 1981 meet in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Haglund was rated 2nd, 5th, and 7th in world rankings during her running career.
Career end
Haglund's stellar running career was brought to an abrupt end in 1981 under a cloud of suspicion of alleged of "two pills", the result of a failed drug test. A Swedish board of adjudicators found Haglund innocent of charges and turned over their decision for consideration to an international track and field tribunal assembled in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
in 1982. Hans Holmer and Haglund traveled to Jamaica to prove her innocent, with the right evidence for her not being charged in the matter, but in the 80s, there was other laws for sport than in society, Haglund and Holmer never regretted the "trip" it still was a victory for them to see and an eye opener for the world of sport. Hans Holmer
Hans Holmér
Hans Holmér, , Chief of the Swedish National Security Service and later Stockholm county administrative chief of police. He became well known during his tenure, spanning barely a year, as Chief of the special investigation unit into the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme...
, later to become known as the Chief of Special Investigation in the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
in 1986, was a principal in Haglund's defense, alongside Ulf Ekelund, the General Secretary of the Swedish Track and Field Federation.
Legacy and honors
Haglund was a pioneer for women in sports in Sweden. Not only was she an outspoken champion of equality regarding pay and sponsorship, she was the first modern Swedish woman athlete to have a manager. Egon Hakansson and Haglund lobbied and obtained lucrative contracts from coveted sponsors of the day.Haglund belongs to the Legends of "1956", a sports fraternity of outstanding Swedish athletes born in 1956: Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
, Ingmar Stenmark, and Frank Andersson
Frank Andersson
Frank Andersson is a Swedish former wrestler, most active around 1975 to 1983. In the World Championships, he won three gold medals and two silver ones. He won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles...
. She is an honored member of the Swedish Sports Academy consisting of 100 athletes in 100 years of Swedish sport from 1899 to 1999 and was awarded Victoriastipendiet
Victoriastipendiet
Victoriastipendiet is awarded a Swedish athlete every year since 1979 on Öland 14 July, the birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden.-Mottagare av Victoriastipendiet:...
in 1981.
After running
Haglund has worked for Jenny Craig Weight Loss Center, as a counselor, manager and a supervisor in the Los Angeles Area for about five years. And as a Head Track Coach for Santa Monica College 1989.With great success - she was assisted by Renne Felton USA - and counselor for the school at the time was the great runner of 1968 "Tommie Smith" Linda Haglund is always grateful - to the manager of Carl Lewis - Joe Douglas - that made it possible for her to work for Santa Monica College and Lee Finch - athletic director at the time.Haglund is a painter and designer - have had several exhibitions. She is inspired by Chagall, Russian born painter. Linda Haglund - linda gazelle design is inspired by Danish and Swedish design - the beauty of Scandinavia.
She penned a book on health and wellness, Lindas må bra bok (Linda's feel good book), published by Prisma in 2007 and writes poetry listed at www.gigihamilton.com.
Haglund is related to the singer and actor Otto Brandenburg of Denmark. And Tom Elling writer and film-photographer of Denmark.