Topsy Lindblom

Gustaf “Topsy” Lindblom got his nickname as a schoolboy, when he helped to hunt down an escaped circus elephant named Topsy. An all-around athlete, he competed in jumping (long, triple and high jump), hurdling, tennis, football, bandy and boxing. Although Lindblom earned all his honors in triple jump, winning an Olympic title in that event in 1912 and his only Swedish title that same year, he considered his favorite sport boxing.

Lindblom was secretary-general of the Swedish Boxing Federation from 1921-29 and 1932-35. Lindblom was also a boxing promoter and manager, managing the Swedish team at the 1925 European Championships, where Sweden was the most successful nation with three gold and two silver medals. He managed boxer Olle Tandberg, who was the amateur European heavyweight champion in 1937 and 1939 and Swedish heavyweight champion in 1936-40.

Outside of sports, Lindblom, who graduated from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology with an engineering degree, was employed by Nya Förenade Elektriska AB from 1910-13. From 1913-15 he worked as a journalist with the sports newspaper Nordiskt Idrottslif and from 1915-34 was editor-in-chief of the sports newspaper Idrottsbladet. From 1922-34 Lindblom was secretary-general of the Swedish Sports Journalists Union and from 1933-60 CEO of the National Dance Palace Nalen in Stockholm, which became one of the leading jazz and dance stages in the world.

Personal Best: TJ – 14.76 (1912).