PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Björn Borg is one of Swedish sports’ greatest.
He was also known for always going his own way and doing things his way.
A clear proof of that is when he snubbed Bragdguldet’s 70th anniversary – for the most unexpected reason.
When you talk about Swedish sports’ biggest icons of all time, come Björn Borg’s name very high on that list. The tennis giant has an absolutely unparalleled track record and has left such an incredibly large mark on his sport over the years.
Borg’s career
Borg is still considered one of tennis’ greatest of all time and the Swedish icon won 63 singles titles during his active career. Most impressive of course were five straight Wimbledon titles and four straight French Open titles.
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A clear indication of his greatness in Swedish sports was when the Swedish Sports Academy named him “Swedish sportsman of the century” in connection with the turn of the millennium, and Björn Borg came first ahead of greats like Ingemar Stenmark and Ingemar Johansson.
READ MORE: Björn Borg now reveals why we will never see him on TV again – apart from a single exception
Björn nodded
But the good Borg was also known for always going his own way and doing things his way in all situations, which could sometimes lead to rather unexpected actions. A clear example of this is when the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet celebrated the 70th anniversary of Bragdguldet with pomp and show in Stockholm in 1995.
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All past winners were invited and a whopping 55 of the 70 recipients of the Golden Achievement in history turned up to celebrate the prestigious award which has been handed out since 1925. Frank Andersson, Gert Fredriksson, Håkan “Carla” Carlqvist, Gunder Hägg and Marie-Helene “Billan” Östlund where only some of the names were present to celebrate the anniversary.
– What an opportunity to meet all the old winners. Several here I have only read about before, said one impressed Stefan Edberg to Expressen.
READ MORE: Björn Borg’s honest confession about his son Leo Borg – that’s why the icon didn’t want him to play tennis
But the one who shone with his absence was two-time Bragdguldet winner Björn Borg. The former tennis star was still in Stockholm but, despite the big sports festival, went to the cinema premiere of James Bond-the film “Golden Eye” the same evening.
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