William Grut

William Oscar Guernsey Grut (17 September 1914 – 20 November 2012) Grut was a multiple Swedish swimming champion and received the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1948.

Grut was born to the architect Torben Grut, who designed the 1912 Olympic Stadium in Stockholm,

Grut stopped competing after the London Olympic Games and started managing the Swedish Modern Pentathlon team instead. He coached Lars Hall, who went on to win two Olympic Gold Medals (Helsinki, 1952, and Melbourne, 1956). In 1960, Grut was elected secretary general of the International Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Union (UIPMB), a post he held for 24 years. The same year he served as a flag bearer for Sweden at the 1960 Summer Olympics. In his spare time, Grut took up golf – his handicap never fell below 12, but golf still brought him immense pleasure in later life.

At Karlberg military academy, Grut's sports teacher had advised his young cadets to "pursue sports until the day you die, but do not let sports be the death of you" – a piece of advice Grut took to heart and abided by all his life.