Johan Erik Friborg (24 January 1893 – 22 May 1968) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. He finished seventh individually and won a gold medal with the Swedish team. The city of

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

donated a silver trophy to be given to the best Swedish road cyclist at the 1912 Olympics, and the trophy went to Friborg. In 1955 he donated it to a Swedish racing society (Sällskapet Gamla Tävlingcyklister), which decided to present it to the best Swedish cyclist at each forthcoming Olympics, as originally intended. After the 1912 Games Friborg moved to the United States. In 1917, he enlisted in the Swedish army and participated in the final stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After that he settled in France and worked as a

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

. He attended the 1920 and 1948 Olympics as a masseur for Swedish wrestlers; at the 1924 Games in Paris he was an interpreter and deputy head of the Swedish cycling team. At the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Friborg moved to London, where he died in 1968.

References

1893 births 1968 deaths Swedish male cyclists Cyclists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in cycling Sportspeople from Stockholm Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics {{Sweden-cycling-bio-stub