Gösta Gärdin

Gösta Gärdin (28 May 1923 – 12 December 2015) was a Swedish Army officer and modern pentathlete who won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Career Gärdin was born on 28 May 1923 in Linköping, Sweden, the son of colonel Georg Gärdin and his wife Märta (née Wästfelt). He was commissioned as an officer in 1944 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to Småland Artillery Regiment (A 6) the same year. Gärdin completed the Artillery and Engineering College's higher course from 1949 to 1951. Gärdin became captain in the General Staff Corps in 1956 and major in Boden Artillery Regiment (A 8) in 1962. Gärdin was a board member of the Swedish Olympic Committee from 1984 to 1996.

Gärdin joined to the Riksidrottens vänner (Friends of the National Sports) in 1979 and became its chairman in 1989, a position he held for 14 years. He resigned at the annual meeting in 2001 and was then elected honorary chairman. Meanwhile, the scholarship Gösta Gärding's Youth Fund (Gösta Gärdins Ungdomsfond) was established for "a male or female sports leaders, who for many years successfully engaged in youth activities and particularly promoted the understanding of fair play and joy of sport."

Personal life In 1946 he married Margit Engman (born 1923), daughter of the factory manager Gunnar Engman and Märta (née Johansson).

Death Gärdin died on 12 December 2015 in Jönköping. The funeral service took place at Gustaf Adolf Church in Stockholm on 22 January 2016.

Dates of rank 1944 – Second lieutenant 1946 – Lieutenant 1956 – Captain 1962 – Major 1965 – Lieutenant colonel 1969 – Colonel 1976 – Senior colonel