Hjalmar Johansson

Hjalmar Johansson was a versatile athlete and one of the most successful Swedish divers before World War I. At the 1906 Intercalated Games, he competed in athletics (standing long jump) and swimming (100 m freestyle) but had his greatest success finishing sixth in platform diving. Two years later, at the 1908 London Olympics, he won gold in platform diving ahead of three Swedish compatriots; he also competed in the 200 m breaststroke, but was eliminated in the heats. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, he claimed another medal, a silver in plain high diving at the age of 38, and just missed a medal, placing fourth in platform diving.

During the 1908 Olympic Games, he was also awarded a gold medal of the Royal English Lifesaving Society. During one of the preliminary round dives from the 10-metre platform, the English competitor George Cane dove with his mouth open and entered the water incorrectly. He ruptured a small blood vessel in his chest and was unconscious in the water. Thanks to the prompt action of Johansson, who dove in and rescued Cane, the Briton was able to walk away after artificial respiration was administered.

At home, Johansson won 14 Swedish championships, including the 100 m freestyle (1902); at least three times, he won the plain high diving title (1899, 1901, 1907) and the platform diving title (1907). During his studies in London, he also won five British Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) national championships in diving between 1907 and 1913. He was also active in weightlifting, wrestling and ski jumping.

Johansson was involved in the founding of the world governing body of swimming, the Fédération internationale de natation (FINA) in London (1908), where he played a key role in standardizing diving guidelines, a template for later international regulations. He was an innovator of new diving styles and the inventor of the “Swedish swallow”. In 1982, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a pioneer diver and contributor.

Originally trained as a tailor like his father, he went to the United States, where he worked as a physiotherapist in San Francisco. Later, he returned to Sweden and settled in Stockholm.