Mikael Ljungberg (13 June 1970 – 17 November 2004) 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 ...

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. He competed for

Örgryte IS Örgryte Idrottssällskap, commonly referred to as Örgryte IS, Örgryte () or (especially locally) ÖIS or Öis, is a Swedish sports club based in Gothenburg. It consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling. H ...

's wrestling section. Ljungberg was one of the most successful Swedish wrestlers ever. He won World Championship gold medals in 1993 and 1995, European Championship gold medals in 1995 and 1999, and an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal in 2000. In the summer of 2004, the '' Complete Book of the Olympics'' 2004 edition wrongly reported Mikael Ljungberg had been suspended in 1994 for using a banned performance-enhancing drug. This was silently corrected in the 2008 edition of the same book. On 17 November 2004, while receiving care for depression at the

psychiatric ward Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

of the

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality, located just south of Gothenburg on the west-coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is located ...

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

outside

, he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by hanging himself. His brother reported in interviews afterwards that Mikael was a sensitive person who took setbacks seriously. Also, it was reported that his life after his professional career came to an end had been difficult for him; his mother had died in 2002, the same year as he went through a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Just before his death he was appointed manager of the sport section for the

Swedish Wrestling Federation 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 ...

, an office he would have entered on 1 January 2005.

References

* Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Greco-Roman Wrestling: Heavyweight". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London, UK: Aurum Press Limited. p. 1159.

External links

*
Mikael Ljungberg Memorial Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ljungberg, Mikael 1970 births 2004 deaths 2004 suicides Swedish male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic wrestlers for Sweden Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in wrestling Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Suicides by hanging in Sweden Sportspeople from Gothenburg European Wrestling Champions