Karl-Åke Asph became known as one of the Dalälven River valley’s most versatile athletes in the 1960s. He was a champion athlete in both orienteering and long-distance running as well as in cross-country skiing. As a cross-country runner, he belonged to the Swedish elite class winning the Lidingöloppet in 1967, but he earned his greatest sporting credentials in skiing. He won gold in his only Olympic appearance in the relay at the 1964 Winter Olympics, where he ran the first leg. Asph also took two individual bronze medals in the Swedish Championships, won three Swedish relay championships with his club IFK Mora, and won the Vasa ski-marathon team competition in 1968. His best individual performance in the Vasa run was seventh place in 1968.
Asph came to Älvdalen to attend forestry school in 1960 after his military service in Östersund. In 1964 he began study at Mora Folkhögskola and trained together with compatriot and 1968 Olympian Bjarne Andersson. He was later educated at the GIH (Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences) in Stockholm and worked as a physical education teacher in Mora at primary and secondary schools until retirement. He was also a talented craftsman and built several houses on his own in the Orsa community some 40 km north of Mora.
Sweden