PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Jan-Ove Waldner is one of Swedish sports’ great giants.
Now he himself reveals who he thinks is Sweden’s greatest athlete.
Then he chooses the biggest in the biggest sport – namely Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He is undoubtedly one of our greatest sporting heroes in history. With a ball and a racket in his hand could Jan-Ove Waldner perform great deeds and conquer the world.
Waldner’s career
JO broke through as a 16-year-old and was seen as an incredibly talented child prodigy by reaching the European Championship final in 1982. From that day he was at the top of the world to stay and has won an incredible number of medals since then.
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He is seen as a giant in table tennis after an Olympic gold, six World Cup gold, eleven European Championship gold and two World Cup wins. And among Swedish sportsmen in history, he is truly one of the truly great.
JO knocks Zlatan
When he himself gets the chance to name Sweden’s greatest athlete of all time, he doesn’t need much time to think about that answer. During a celebrity mingling at the WC 94 hero Jesper Blomqvist restaurant, he gets exactly that question.
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Then the ping pong legend chooses to point out two iconic names, but nods anyway Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Who is the most successful athlete we have in the biggest sport in Sweden, namely football.
– It gets a bit boring. It’s (Ingemar) Stenmark and (Björn) Borg for me. It’s the 56s, they were cruel, says Waldner to Afterwork TV, who was there to cover the event.
Who do you think is Sweden’s greatest athlete? Share the article and have your say!
READ MORE: Jan-Ove Waldner points out his highlights – powerful strokes show why all Swedes absolutely love him
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