Martin Matsbo (4 October 1911 – 6 September 2002) 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 ...

cross-country skier who won a bronze medal in the 4 × 10 km relay at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

. He finished fourth in the 18 km event at those Games. Matsbo has earned two 4 × 10 km relay bronze medals at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

(1935, 1938). His best individual finish at the Nordic skiing World Championships was fourth in the 18 km in 1938. Matsbo also won the 18 km event at the 1937

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

. He was born Martin Gustafsson, but changed his surname to Matsbo in 1928 after the village where he lived. He was a non-commissioned military officer, and in 1941 participated in the War World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo. For more than three decades Matsbo was working on new ski wax formulations. He developed a ski wax that was one of the most used in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1942 his wax boiler in

Malung Malung is a locality and the seat of Malung-Sälen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,126 inhabitants as of 2010. Overview Malung is home to Malungs Folkhögskola, two kilometers south of the town centre. Specialized courses include ...

burned down, destroying many of his recipes and ongoing experiments, and to continue his work he joined the Astra company. Here, he developed Swix, one of the first synthetic waxes, which became commercial in 1946, and was used at the 1948 Olympics. Matsbo later produced other wax types for

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

and

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

. He was featured in the 1988 documentary film ''De sista skidåkarna'' (''The Last Skiers''). On his 90th birthday in 2001, he received the Peder Smith Medal, the highest award of his hometown Hedemora. The Matsboloppet, a national cross-country race in Hedemora, is named after him.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 1 medal – (1 bronze)

World Championships

* 2 medals – (2 bronze)

References

External links

*
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
– click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsbo, Martin 1911 births 2002 deaths People from Hedemora Municipality Cross-country skiers from Dalarna County Cross-country skiers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners Swedish male cross-country skiers Olympic cross-country skiers of Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics