Max Gumpel

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameLeonard Max•Gumpel
Used nameMax•Gumpel
Born23 April 1890 in Stockholm, Stockholm (SWE)
Died3 August 1965 in Stockholm, Stockholm (SWE)
AffiliationsSK Neptun, Stockholm (SWE)
NOC Sweden
Medals OG
Gold 0
Silver 1
Bronze 1
Total 2

Biography

Max Gumpel was one of the founders of Stockholm’s swimming club SK Neptun. He started his Olympic career as a breaststroke swimmer in 1908, but was even more successful in water polo, winning a silver in 1912 and bronze in 1920.

Gumpel was a master builder and owned a prosperous construction company. He had a short affair with movie star Greta Garbo and they stayed in contact for life. He was also involved in an incident during World War II, giving the Allied Forces access to the positions of the German oil refineries. A book was written about this, which was made into a Hollywood movie called “The Counterfeit Traitor.” Gumpel also had a great interest in boats. He owned the motor boat “Laila” and the archipelago cruiser “La Liberté,” built in 1934 by the famous boat designer Erik Salander.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1908 Summer Olympics Swimming (Aquatics) SWE Max Gumpel
400 metres Freestyle, Men (Olympic) DNS
200 metres Breaststroke, Men (Olympic) 3 h1 r1/3
1912 Summer Olympics Water Polo (Aquatics) SWE Max Gumpel
Water Polo, Men (Olympic) Sweden 2 Silver
1920 Summer Olympics Water Polo (Aquatics) SWE Max Gumpel
Water Polo, Men (Olympic) Sweden 3 Bronze