Håkan Bengtsson

During the late 1950s and early 1960s Swedish swimmer Håkan Bengtsson represented Stockholmspolisens IF (SPIF), winning more than 20 medals at the national championships. Bengtsson won his first medals in 1959 with gold in the 200 metres butterfly and bronze in the 4 x 100 metres medley relay, both in the long course. He defended his 200 metres butterfly title for the next three consecutive years, in addition to winning gold in the 4 x 100 metres medley relay in 1960 and 1961. In the short course he also won back-to-back golds in the 100 metres butterfly in 1960 and 1961, along with gold in the 4 x 100 metres butterfly in 1961 and 1962.

In 1960 Bengtsson was selected to swim in the 200 metres butterfly event at the Roma Olympics, with the fastest 16 swimmers advancing to the semi-finals. Both Bengtsson and Jürgen Bachmann (GER) tied for 16th place with 2:25.0, resulting in a swim-off, which the German won. Two years later Bengtsson also swam in the same event at the European Aquatics Championships in Leipzig, finishing in a three-way tie for 12th.

After his competitive career Bengtsson remained involved with swimming and water polo at SPIF, working as a leader at training camps and competitions. In 2020 he was awarded with the Swedish Swimming Association’s Gold Medal of Merit.