Sixten Jernberg, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetSixten Jernberg
Swedish cross-country skier
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Lima, Dalarna County, Sweden
About Sixten Jernberg
- Edy Sixten Jernberg (6 February 1929 – 14 July 2012) was a Swedish cross-country skier and one of the most successful cross-country skiers of all time.
- Between 1952 and 1964 he took part in 363 ski races, finishing within the podium in 263 and winning 134 of them; during this period he won four world titles and nine Olympic medals.
- In 12 starts over three consecutive Winter Games he never finished worse than fifth place, and between 1955 and 1960, he won 86 out of 161 competitions.Jernberg was a blacksmith and a lumberjack before beginning his career as a cross-country skier.
- He specialized in the longer distances, with four of his eight gold medals coming over 50 km, one over 30 km and three in the 4 × 10 km relay.
- He also won Vasaloppet twice, 1955 and 1960.
- He won the 15 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1954. At one competition, Jernberg had a fever and coughed up blood, but still finished the 50 km event.
- Gunde Svan said: "It was almost like [Sixten] didn't like his own body and tried to punish it in different ways."For his cross-country skiing successes, Jernberg was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1960 (shared with Helmut Recknagel, Sverre Stensheim and Tormod Knutsen).
- He was also awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1956 (shared with pentathlete Lars Hall).Jernberg retired after the Olympic Winter Games of 1964.
- In 1965, the International Olympic Committee awarded Jernberg the Mohammed Taher Trophy for his contributions to Nordic skiing.
- He died of cancer at the age of 83.
- He was survived by son Edy.
- His nephew Ingemar became an Olympic pole vaulter.
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