PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Jane Cederqvist is dead, writes Svenska Dagbladet.
The former star swimmer was the first female athlete to be awarded the gold medal.
Cederqvist died in the aftermath of ALS, she was 77 years old.
The swimming legend Jane Cederqvist has died in the aftermath of the disease ALS, writes Svenska Dagbladet. Just over 60 years ago, the swimmer won Olympic silver in Rome, only 15 years old.
Wrote history
The silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle created a lot of attention at home in Sweden, and made Cederqvist receive the feat gold as the first Swedish female athlete ever since the award was established in 1925. She then ended her career at only 16 years old to instead focus on her studies, but even today she is still the youngest athlete to have received the feat gold.
The article continues after the picture.
Something that made Jane Cederqvist unique was her fitness and her endurance. She had the highest measured oxygen absorption capacity of all Swedish Olympians, and the success during the 1960 Olympics created ripples in the water within the Swedish swimming world when more and more people wanted to start swimming at the same time as more and more swimming halls were built around the country.
Jane Cederqvist was 77 years old, rest in peace.