Richard Dahl

Richard Dahl (also known as Rickard Dahl; 5 August 1933 – 8 August 2007) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. His short-lived career was defined by a surprise win at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in a Swedish record of 2.12 m (6 ft 11+1⁄4 in).

Richard Dahl

Richard Dahl (left) and Stig Pettersson at the 1958 European Championships
Personal information
Born	5 August 1933 Landskrona, Sweden
Died	8 August 2007 (aged 74)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	High jump
Club	IF Kronan SoIK Hellas Södertälje IF[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal best	2.12 m (1958)[2]
Medal record Representing  Sweden European Athletics Championships 1958 Stockholm High jump

Career

In 1957 Dahl won his first significant medal, a silver at the national championships behind Stig Pettersson, the leading Swedish jumper of the era. Both repeated that placing the following year.^[3]

At the 1958 European Athletics Championships, held in Stockholm, Dahl set a Swedish record and championship record at 2.12 m (6 ft 11+1⁄4 in), beating Jiří Lanský and Stig Pettersson.^[4] He became the fourth, and thus the latest male Swede to win the title, following Kurt Lundqvist, Anton Bolinder and Bengt Nilsson.^[5] For this performance he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal and designated the Stora grabbars märke number 200 in athletics.^[1]

Dahl won two more international medals – a bronze at the 1959 International University Games (clearing two metres) and a silver at the inaugural Nordic Athletics Championships (where he lost to Petterssen by ten centimetres).^[6][7] His final achievement of note was a third place at the Swedish Championships in 1960. After retiring from competition, he became a sports journalist for the local paper Länstidningen Södertälje, and later for the regional Nordvästra Skånes Tidningar.^[8]