Leonard Max Gumpel (23 April 1890 – 3 August 1965) 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 ...

building contractor and Olympic swimmer and water polo player. Gumpel was born in a rich family, and in 1906 was one of the founders and early sponsors of the Stockholm swimming club

SK Neptun SK Neptun, ''Simklubben Neptun'', Swedish swim team from Stockholm founded October 12, 1906 by members from Stockholms KK. Home pool is Eriksdalsbadet in Stockholm. The club practises swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and masters ...

. He competed at the 1908 Olympics in the 200 metre breaststroke and at the

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

and the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

in water polo, winning a silver and a bronze medal in 1912 and 1920, respectively. He was later a board member of the Swedish Swimming Federation between 1919 and 1931. Gumpel had a short relationship with

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

before she moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. They kept in touch as friends for the rest of their lives. She was a frequent guest of Gumpel's when visiting Sweden. In 1912 Gumpel graduated with a degree in construction and founded the firm ''Gumpel & Bengtsson'', which soon assumed a leading position in Sweden. During

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 ...

Gumpel was involved in espionage with his friend Eric Erickson. With their help the allied powers obtained the exact locations of Germany's petroleum refineries and then bombed them. This event was reflected in a book and the 1962 film ''

The Counterfeit Traitor ''The Counterfeit Traitor'' is a 1962 espionage thriller film starring William Holden, Hugh Griffith, and Lilli Palmer. Holden plays an American-born Swedish citizen who agrees to spy on the Nazis in World War II. It was based on a nonfiction boo ...

''. Gumpel had a strong interest in boats and cars. He owned the motorboat ''Laila'' and the

skerry cruiser thumb Skerry cruisers (or Square metre yachts) are yachts, usually wooden, which are constructed according to the Square metre rule. Originating from Sweden, they were historically most popular in the Baltic Sea, though some classes also saw popul ...

''La Liberté'' designed in 1934 by Erik Salander – both built at Kungsörs Båtvarv in Sweden.Gumpels motorboat – Laila (1935)
jsbab.se

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*
Neptun 100år -in swedishGumpels amfibie car (1949) -in swedishGumpels Chrysler 300 (1961)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumpel, Max 1890 births 1965 deaths Swedish male water polo players Swedish male breaststroke swimmers Olympic water polo players for Sweden Olympic swimmers for Sweden Swimmers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in water polo Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics SK Neptun water polo players Sportspeople from Stockholm SK Neptun swimmers

See also

References

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