Sport Horse riding Club K4 IF, Umea | Name Gehnall Persson Role Olympic athlete | |
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Born 21 August 1910 Steneby, Sweden Died July 16, 1976, Koping, Sweden | ||
Gehnäll Persson (21 August 1910 – 16 July 1976) was a Swedish Army fanjunkare and equestrian.
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Career
Persson was born in Steneby, Sweden and was the son of Sven Persson and Bertha Andersson.
He competed in dressage at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won team gold medals in 1952 and 1956; he finished fourth individually in 1956.
At the 1948 Olympics the Swedish team won with a wide margin and received gold medals. The team was disqualified in 1949 after it was found that Persson was only a fanjunkare, temporarily promoted to the rank of lieutenant specifically to circumvent the "Officers and Gentlemen only" eligibility rule at the time. Later that year the International Federation for Equestrian Sports relaxed its eligibility rule to allow non-commissioned ranks (and women) to compete.
Personal life
In 1938 he married Ruth Jansson (born 1914), the daughter of Richard Jansson and Elin Larsson. He was the father of Lars Ove (born 1943) and Anders (born 1951).