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Siv Gustavsson (born 9 July 1957) is a Swedish former
racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...
athlete. She was the gold medallist at the
1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 3 and 4 October 1981 in the streets of Valencia, Spain. The event was also known as ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup''. Complete results were published. Medallists Results Men's 20 km Men's 50 ...
, making her the second ever female world champion in the sport. Gustavsson also won a bronze at the
1986 European Athletics Championships The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion, now known as Mercedes-Benz Arena, in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. ...
– the first year women's walks were held at that event. She won fifteen Swedish national titles from 1976 to 2004 over distance from 3000 m to 20 km.


Career

She began to emerge as a walker internationally in the early 1970s, starting with a third place at the
Nordic Race Walking Championships The Nordic Race Walking Championships ( no, Nordisk mesterskap i kappgang) is an annual racewalking competition between athletes from the Nordic countries organised by Nordic Athletics. Established in 1957, it was a biennial competition until 20 ...
junior race in 1971, then two consecutive wins in the category in 1973 and 1975. Her first senior title at the event came over 5 km in 1977, when she beat
Britt Holmquist Britt Holmquist is a Sweden, Swedish former racewalking athlete. She was twice a competitor at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup and was the bronze medallist in the first ever women's race in 1975 IAAF World Race Walking Cup, 1975. She was part of a ...
and Norway's
Thorill Gylder Thorill Gylder (born 5 May 1958) is a Norwegian female former racewalking athlete and speaker. A member of Vansjø/Svinndal IL sports club, she competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. She competed three times at the IAAF World Race Walking ...
. The
1975 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1975 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Le Grand-Quevilly, France, on October 11–12, 1975. The event was also known as Lugano Trophy. For the first time, there was a women's 5 km race held as invitation event. Complete results were ...
and
1977 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1977 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, on 24–25 September 1977. For the first time, a new competition name ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup'' was introduced replacing the former Lugano Trophy. As in 1975, the ...
both featured invitational, non-official women's races and she showed herself to be among the world's best with a runner-up finish to fellow Swede
Margareta Simu Margareta Simu (born 2 May 1953 in Västerås) is a Swedish former racewalking athlete. She competed three times at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup and was the winner in 1975 and bronze medallist in 1977. On her last appearance in 1979 she placed ...
at the first race, then beating both Simu and
Carol Tyson Carol Tyson (15 December 1957 – 12 June 2005) was a British racewalking athlete. She was a three-time competitor at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup and was twice a silver medallist. Born to Jack and Peggy Tyson, both medical doctors, she atten ...
to win the 1977 race.IAAF WORLD RACE WALKING CUP - SARANSK 2012 - FACTS & FIGURES
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-07-20.
She missed the first official women's championship in racewalking held in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. She competed at the WAAA Championships in Britain in 1980 and was runner-up to
Irene Bateman Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
over 5000 m. Her career peaked at the
1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1981 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 3 and 4 October 1981 in the streets of Valencia, Spain. The event was also known as ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup''. Complete results were published. Medallists Results Men's 20 km Men's 50 ...
, where she became the second ever women's world champion in racewalking, defeating the whole field by nearly twenty seconds. The Swedish team (including Ann Jansson, Ann-Marie Larsson and
Britt Holmqvist Britt may refer to: Places * Britt, Iowa, United States * Britt, Minnesota, United States * Britt, Ontario, Canada * Britt Peak, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Britt Township, Hancock County, Iowa, United States Other uses * Britt (actress), Swedis ...
) was narrowly beaten by one point to the women's team title. She attempted to defend her title at the
1983 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 1983 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 24 and 25 September 1983 in the streets of Bergen, Norway. The event was also known as ''IAAF Race Walking World Cup''. Complete results were published. Medallists Results Men's 20 km Men' ...
, but ending the competition in fifth place. Wit Gustavsson being their top performer, Sweden's women also fell down the team rankings into fourth place. She appeared at the
1986 European Athletics Championships The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion, now known as Mercedes-Benz Arena, in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. ...
and in the 10 km walk—the first ever to be held for women at the European Championships—she ranked third for a bronze medal behind Spanish athlete
Mari Cruz Díaz Mari Cruz Díaz ( es, María Cruz Díaz García; born 24 October 1969 in Barcelona, Spain) is a retired female race walker from Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...
and Ann Jansson. She married fellow race walker
Enrique Vera Ibáñez Enrique Vera Ibáñez (born 31 May 1954) is a Mexican and Sweden, Swedish former race walking athlete. His first major medal came at the 1975 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics, where he beat his compatriot Domingo Colín to ...
, who migrated from his native Mexico to settle with her in Sweden. Her husband gained Swedish citizenship and later represented his adoptive country at the
1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...
. The couple had a child in 1985,
Ato Ibáñez Andreas Enrique Anatole Vera Ibáñez (born 14 November 1985) is a male Swedish racewalker. He has represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics on four occasions, from 2011 to 2017. He walked for Sweden at the IAAF World Race ...
, who himself has since gone on to represent Sweden in race walking. The couple were later divorced. She had a second child in 1990,
Perseus Karlström Perseus Karlström (born 2 May 1990) is a Swedish male racewalker. He competed in the 20 kilometres walk event at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. He also competed in the 20 kilometres walk event at the 2015 World Championships in At ...
, who also became a professional racewalker. Gustavsson continued on as a walker and was the over-45 European Indoor champion in 2005 and broke the over-50s world record in the indoor 3000 m in 2012.European Veterans Indoor Championships
. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-07-20.


National titles

*
Swedish Athletics Championships The Swedish Athletics Championships ( sv, Svenska mästerskapen i friidrott) is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Swedish Athletics Association, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Sweden.
**3000 m walk: 1977, 1978 **5000 m walk: 1977, 1981, 1983, 2000, 2004 **10 km walk: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1995, 1999 **20 km walk: 1995, 2002


International competitions


Notes

* Variations on her name include ''Siv Gustafsson'', ''Siw Ibáñez'', ''Siv Vera-Ibanez'', ''Siw Ybañez'' and ''Siw Karlström''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavsson, Siv Living people 1957 births Swedish female racewalkers European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships winners