Rudolf Rydström

Rudolf Rydström was born in 1886 in Stockholm but lived in 1910 in Haparanda at the border to Finland, where he represented IFK. Previously and afterwards, he also wrestled for Malmbergets AIF. At the 1912 Olympics, he competed in the lightweight division but lost his first two bouts by fall. He also competed in track & field events (100m, 400m, and long jump).

Rydström also gained some prominence as a model for famous painters and paintings including Carl Larsson’s (1853-1919) monumental painting Midvinterblot (Sacrifice for Winter Solstice, 1914-15) for the central staircase of the National Museum in Stockholm and Eugène Fredrik Jansson’s (1862-1915) _ Två brottare (Two Wrestlers, 1912). When Jansson suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in January 1915, Rydström, who had been trained as a nurse, cared for him for the rest of his life.