Gehnäll Persson (21 August 1910 – 16 July 1976) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

fanjunkare Fanjunkare (OR-7) is a Swedish military rank above Översergeant and below Förvaltare. The word 'Fanjunkare' is derived from German 'Fahnenjunker', and denotes a standard-bearer, hence 'Colour Sergeant'. Promotion For promotion to ''Fanjunkare ...

'' and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

Career

Persson was born on 21 August 1910 in Steneby, Sweden, the son of Sven Persson and Bertha Andersson. He competed in

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won team gold medals in 1952 and 1956; he finished fourth individually in 1956. At the 1948 Olympics the Swedish team won with a wide margin and received gold medals. The team was disqualified in 1949 after it was found that Persson was only a ''

'', temporarily promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

specifically to circumvent the "Officers and Gentlemen only" eligibility rule at the time. Later that year the

International Federation for Equestrian Sports The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

relaxed its eligibility rule to allow non-commissioned ranks (and women) to compete.

Personal life

In 1938, he married Ruth Jansson (born 1914), the daughter of Richard Jansson and Elin Larsson. He was the father of Lars Ove (born 1943) and Anders (born 1951).

Awards and decorations

H. M. The King's Medal H. M. ( His Majesty) The King's Medal ( sv, H.M. Konungens medalj), earlier known as the Court Medal ( sv, Hovmedaljen), is a Swedish honour that may be bestowed upon Swedish and foreign citizens. The medal was created in 1814 and is awarded in di ...

*Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Veterinary Corps' Silver Medal (''Svenska Blå Stjärnans silvermedalj'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persson, Gehnall 1910 births 1976 deaths Swedish Army personnel Swedish dressage riders Olympic equestrians for Sweden Swedish male equestrians Equestrians at the 1948 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in equestrian People from Bengtsfors Municipality Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County