Sigfrid Edström
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Johannes Sigfrid Edström (November 21, 1870 – March 18, 1964) was a Swedish industrial and sports official.
Edström was born in the tiny village of Morlanda, on the island of Orust, Bohuslän. He studied at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and later in Switzerland and the United States. In his youth, he was a top sprinter, capable of finishing the 100 m in 11 seconds. He was director of the electrotechnical company ASEA from 1903 to 1933, and president of the board from 1934 until 1939.
Edström was involved in Swedish sports administration, and helped organize the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. During the Olympics, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) was established, and Edström was elected its first president, a position that he held until 1946.
He became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1920, and after a position in the Executive Committee, he became vice-president in 1931. When IOC president Henri de Baillet-Latour died in 1942, Edström was the acting president until the end of World War II, when he was formally elected president. He played an important role in reviving the Olympic Movement after the war. In 1952, he retired from his position in and was succeeded by Avery Brundage.
In 1931 Edström was involved in the controversial decision to ban legendary Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi from competing at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, as he saw Nurmi as a professional athlete. This affected Finlands relationship to Sweden negatively as Paavo Nurmi was considered a Finnish national hero.
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| Preceded by Henri de Baillet-Latour |
President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1942–1952 |
Succeeded by Avery Brundage |
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