No one can forget when Håkan Carlqvist stopped in the middle of the race – to scoop up a berry.
But years later, he revealed the truth about the prank.
– No one could handle it, Carla said.
When talking about unforgettable, Swedish sports heroes, it is impossible to leave Håkan Carlqvist out of the discussion. He was not only a superb motocross rider – but also a straightforward and unique personality, which made him quickly become one of Sweden’s biggest and most popular athletes.
The fairytale career
It was in the 70’s and 80’s that Håkan Carlqvist became “Carla” with the Swedish people, and with his incredible winning skull and his ability to never ever give up, he went straight home out in the cabins. In addition, he reaped great success in the sport, with two World Cup golds, in 1979 and 1983, as the main highlights of his career.
You never knew what you were going to get from Carlqvist. He was an entertainer as much as an athlete, and it was several antics during his career that made him so immensely popular. Perhaps the most classic came in a race in 1988, when he suddenly went out into the crowd in the middle of the race. A commentator on television believed, understandably, that Carlqvist had developed engine problems and that he had to stop the race. But that was not the case at all.
The truth about the beer freeze
Instead, he chose to take a beer from someone in the audience, which he quickly poured into himself before continuing in the competition, which he won by a landslide. But several years later, Carlqvist revealed that it was all a planned prank – in which his brother Lennart played a leading role.
– I had my brother Lennart with me and told him to go down to the corner and buy me a beer if I was leading by more than 20 seconds, Carla said, before continuing:
– The funny thing was that there were 10-12 laps left after that thing. As I passed the curve after that, every single Englishman was hanging over the fence with a beer note and yelling at me to stop.
Voices were even heard that Carlqvist should have been washed out of the race, but it was quickly dismissed.
– Some have tried to do something similar, but no one can manage it. Because it was pure outclassing. An Englishman wanted to wash me because I took inappropriate help, you were really only allowed to drink in a depot. But the jury only panned for him, Carla said.
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