Axel Wikström was selected for the 1932 Olympics after his results at the 1931 Swedish Championship in Umeå, where he was second in the 30 km and fifth in the 50 km, and his excellent performance in the selection races in early spring of 1931. His silver medal in the 1932 Olympic 18 km contributed to Sweden’s double triumph. On his return to his hometown of Skellefteå he was carried through the city. In March 1935, he made headlines again, when he was the first foreigner to win the 50 km at the Lahti Ski Games. The victory in Lahti earned him the “ticket” to the 1936 Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where Sweden took the first four places in the 50 km with Wikström placing second. Wikström never won an individual Swedish Championship but did win a 1936 team championship in the 30 km with Skellefteå AIK. He was appointed “Stor Grabb” (lit. Big Boy) No. 9 in Swedish skiing, an honorary sports award. In his native region he became also well-known for preparing ski-tracks, notably for the 1946 Swedish Championships.
Sweden