William Oscar Guernsey Grut (17 September 1914 – 20 November 2012) was a Swedish
modern pentathlete
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...
. He competed at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
Olefine Moe
In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond.
Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic, an ...
. He qualified as a student in May 1932, the same year his father lost most of his earnings as a consequence of the Krueger crash. Grut's first choice would have been to study medicine, and he had gained a place at Pembroke College, Cambridge, but that dream ended with the stock market crash. Grut chose a career in the army instead, where the training was free and where he could fulfill his desire to contribute to his country's defence.
His father had been Swedish tennis champion around the turn of the century, but Grut did not follow in his footsteps, as his natural talent was swimming. Grut set a new junior record for 100 m freestyle swimming in 1928 and went on to win a series of Swedish Championships in the 200 m, 400 m and 1500 m freestyle.
In 1936 Grut formed part of the Swedish swimming team at the Berlin Olympic Games, where he saw the German pentathlete
Gotthard Handrick
Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Career
Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony ...
win gold in Modern Pentathlon. Until then, Modern Pentathlon gold medals had been the preserve of Swedish pentathletes: Liliehöök in 1912 (Stockholm), Dyrssen in 1920 (Antwerp), Lindman in 1924 (Paris), Thofelt in 1928 (Amsterdam),
Oxenstierna
Oxenstierna ( , ) is a Swedish noble family, originally from Småland in southern Sweden which can be traced up to the middle of the 14th century. The Oxenstierna family held vast estates in Södermanland and Uppland during the late Middle Ages a ...
in 1932 (Los Angeles).
As a captain in the Swedish Artillery, Grut had plenty of opportunity to train in the five Modern Pentathlon disciplines, and he made the most of every opportunity: cross-country running, riding and swimming every single day, fencing three times a week and shooting during his daily lunchbreaks.
In February 1948, Grut took part in the Winter Olympic Games held in St. Moritz. He was a member of the Swedish Winter Pentathlon team, together with
Claes Egnell
Claes Robert Herman Vidarsson Egnell (29 January 1916 – 15 January 2012)Gustaf Lindh and
Bertil Haase
Bertil Robert Herman Haase Vidarsson (5 June 1923 – 7 July 2014) was a Swedish pentathlete who competed at both Winter and Summer Olympics.
Grut arrived in London for the 1948 Olympic Games very well prepared. The modern pentathlon event was organized in
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
. Grut's Swedish teammates were
Gösta Gärdin
Gösta Gärdin (28 May 1923 – 12 December 2015) was a Swedish Army officer and modern pentathlete who won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Career
Gärdin was born on 28 May 1923 in Linköping, Sweden, the son of colonel Georg ...
and Sune Wehlin. Grut had an element of luck in drawing a good horse, ''Clarian Boy'', for the riding event, and from then he went on to complete his best competition result ever. Modern pentathlon scores were calculated according to ranking in each event in those days (the lower the score, the better), and Grut's final result was 1+1+5+1+8=16, an unbroken record. Grut thereby won Olympic Gold in Modern Pentathlon. Gärdin won bronze.
Sweden took home 17 Olympic Gold Medals from London. The prestigious "Svenska Dagbladet Achievement Award" (''Svenska Dagbladets Guldmedalj'') was awarded to Grut that year.Wille Grut Swedish Olympic Committee
Grut stopped competing after the London Olympic Games and started managing the Swedish Modern Pentathlon team instead. He coached
Lars Hall
Lars Göran Ivar Hall (30 April 1927 – 26 April 1991) was a Swedish modern pentathlete who competed at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He won the individual event at both Games and finished second with the Swedish team in 1952. In 1952 he ...
, who went on to win two Olympic Gold Medals (
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, 1952, and Melbourne, 1956). In 1960, Grut was elected secretary general of the International Modern Pentathlon and Biathlon Union (UIPMB), a post he held for 24 years. The same year he served as a flag bearer for Sweden at the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
. In his spare time, Grut took up golf – his handicap never fell below 12, but golf still brought him immense pleasure in later life.
At Karlberg military academy, Grut's sports teacher had advised his young cadets to "pursue sports until the day you die, but do not let sports be the death of you" – a piece of advice Grut took to heart and abided by all his life.