PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He is one of the greatest in Swedish sports.
We never forget the icon Ingemar Johansson.
Now the widow Edna Alsterlund comes with an unexpected confession.
In 1959 the Swede was appointed Ingemar Johansson to “Sportsman of the Year” by the magazine Sports Illustrated and “Athlete of the Year” by the news agency AP. Two heavy awards for one of Swedish sports’ greatest icons ever.
Ingo’s career
He would conquer the world as a heavyweight boxer and took Olympic silver in 1952 in Helsinki and was European champion at two different times during his career. But the greatest success that made “Ingo” immortal came precisely in 1959 when he defeated his rival Floyd Patterson in an unforgettable feat match and became world champion.
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Ingemar Johansson fought 28 boxing matches during his career and won 26 of them, 17 of them by knockout. Today we remember him as the great pride of Swedish boxing.
READ MORE: When Ingo Johansson had a playhouse with Muhammad Ali himself – the forgotten clip will give you goosebumps
The widow confesses
Ingemar unfortunately passed away in 2009, aged 76, and in the last days of his life he fought against both dementia and Alzheimer’s. Now the widow remembers Edna Alsterlind back to the time with her husband and the life they shared.
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They met in 1979 because Edna was a journalist and wanted to interview Ingo after his career, then she moved with him to the USA and the couple got married. She describes her late husband as a very caring and humble man and reveals his most unexpected favorite hobby.
– He was the most equal man I have met in my entire life. He enjoyed sewing very much. Went and looked at nice fabrics and sewing machines. He figured out that if you had a little throwaway chest, it would be more stable if you turned it so that the buttonholes were horizontal. So he sewed shirts like that. Liked strong colors and tacky patterns. At that time there were only grey, white and blue shirts, says Edna Alsterlind in an interview with Dagens Nyheter.
Ingemar’s life
The boxing icon also had no problem with what people thought he was sewing at the time. He generally had a great distance from his life as a sports celebrity, which also became easier during everyday life in the United States.
– We Swedes have a slightly funny way of relating to celebrities. We are not really afraid of them, can say quite brutal things to them. They are not regarded as human beings of flesh and blood. Americans are not afraid to show appreciation. But Ingemar was very careful. He never went ahead in queues and such, even though they said “Champ, come on” and everyone waved him forward. Everyone wanted to be where he was, says the widow in the interview.
READ MORE: The time Ingo introduced himself to the world – by crushing the dreaded giant favourite
Alsterlind particularly remembers a moment with Johansson that showed his great humility as a human being.
– I wanted to go and see how he was treated in a boxing context and Angelo Dundee (who among other things trained Muhammad Ali) had a gym on Fifth street in Miami. But Ingemar found ways around all the time. Finally he gave in. When we got there, it went like wildfire: “Ingemar is here!” He signed autographs and was photographed. I wanted to see if he looked proud, if he felt he was relevant. But he mostly looked after there were so many people there and checked that the keys, watch and wallet were still there, she says with a laugh to the daily newspaper.
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