William Krigsman

While Sweden’s William Krigsman represented his country at his home Olympics, this was a mere footnote in his career. Krigsman was a successful sports coach and instructor who was also involved in the construction of athletics tracks in stadiums around the world. In 1912 Krigsman assisted in the work to construct the running tracks at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium and built the running tracks at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam ahead of the 1928 Games. His construction skills were also used in Tel Aviv in Israel and at the White City Stadium in London.

At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics Krigsman competed in the javelin events where he finished in 14th place in the standard discipline and in 13th place in the throw using both hands. Between 1910 and 1916 Krigsman completed the coaching courses designed by Ernst Hjertberg, a leading figure in the field, including the full instructors’ course. Krigsman’s coaching expertise was in high demand, especially abroad, with him working in Denmark (1917 to 1919), Norway (1919 to 1926), and the Netherlands (1927 to 1928).

After returning to Sweden in 1928 Krigsman lived in Skåne where he worked for the sports association Malmö Allmänna Idrottsförening (MAI), helping them to become one of the best athletics associations in the country. Several Swedish athletes including Lennart Strandberg and Fred Warngård all enjoyed success via the work of the MAI while Krigsman was employed there.

At the 1936 Berlin Olympics Krigsman worked for the Swedish Sports Confederation and from 1941 to 1946 he worked as a coach at the Swedish Pedestrian Association. Krigsman’s final coaching role was at the Stockholm City Sports Board from 1946 to 1947 where he trained sports instructors.

Personal Best: JT – 51.78 (1912).