Klas Ivar Vilhelm Lestander (18 April 1931 – 13 January 2023) was a Swedish biathlete who won a gold medal at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

in Squaw Valley.Klas Lestander
sports-reference.com Lestander started as a

cross-country skier Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, but he was also an experienced hunter, and thus ended up with biathlon. At the 1960 Olympics he placed 15th out of 30 in skiing, but became the first international competitor to ever hit all 20 targets, and hence won the gold medal. His rival

Aleksandr Privalov Aleksandr Vasilyevich Privalov (russian: Александр Васильевич Привалов; 6 August 1933 – 19 May 2021) was a Soviet biathlete. He received a bronze medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. He received a silv ...

needed to clear three targets out of five at the last post to win the event, but managed only two, and ended up with a bronze medal. Meanwhile, the fastest skier

Victor Arbez Victor Arbez (17 May 1934 – 22 January 2016) was a French skier. He competed at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and the 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques ...

hit only 2 targets out of 20, and placed 25th overall.Klas Lestander
Swedish Olympic Committee Next year Lestander finished ninth individually at the World Championships in Umeå and third with the Swedish team. He retired the same year, never winning a Swedish Championship. Lestander lived all his life in

Arjeplog Arjeplog (; Pite Sami: ) is a locality and the seat of Arjeplog Municipality in Norrbotten County, province of Lapland, Sweden with 1,977 inhabitants in 2010. It is a popular winter test site for the Asian and European car industries and feature ...

, where a square is named after him. He was a cousin of the forest worker and Left Party Member of Parliament Paul Lestander. His son, Dan Lestander, was an artist and won the snow sculpture contest at the Olympic Arts Festival in Albertville, France, in 1992. Lestander died at his home in Arjeplog on 13 January 2023, at the age of 91.Klas Lestander död - blev 91 år gammal

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lestander, Klas 1931 births 2023 deaths People from Arjeplog Municipality Swedish male biathletes Biathletes at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic biathletes for Sweden Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in biathlon Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Biathlon World Championships medalists