Sweden national speedway team
| Sweden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nation colour | Yellow |
| SWC Wins | 11 (1952, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2015) |
The Sweden national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
History
The Sweden speedway team has won the Speedway World Team Cup and Speedway World Cup on ten occasions and were a major force in the opening years of the tournament, winning four out of the first five, between 1960 and 1964. Key riders of the period were Ove Fundin, Rune Sörmander, Björn Knutson, Göte Nordin and Sören Sjösten.[1][2][3]
The cup eluded them for 23 years between 1971 and 1993, but they regained the trophy in 1994, when Tony Rickardsson, Henrik Gustafsson and Mikael Karlsson were successful.[4] Sweden bookended the original World Team Cup, winning the inaugural final at the Ullevi Stadium at home in Göteborg, in 1960 before winning the last World Team Cup in 2000 at the Brandon Stadium in Coventry, England.[5]
They also went on to win in 2003 and 2004 and 2015. Additionally, they won the defunct Speedway World Pairs Championship five times, in 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1993.[6]
Major tournament wins
World Team Championships
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Sweden Riders and Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Göteborg Ullevi | 1. Sweden (44) 2.  England (30)3.  Czechoslovakia (15)4.  Poland (7) | Ove Fundin | 12 |
| Olle Nygren | 12 | |||
| Rune Sörmander | 11 | |||
| Björn Knutson | 9 | |||
| Göte Nordin | - | |||
| 1962 | Slaný Slaný Stadium | 1. Sweden (36) 2.  Great Britain (24)3. Poland (20)4. Czechoslovakia (16) | Björn Knutson | 10 |
| Sören Sjösten | 10 | |||
| Ove Fundin | 9 | |||
| Göte Nordin | 4 | |||
| Rune Sörmander | 3 | |||
| 1963 |  Vienna Stadion Wien | 1. Sweden (37) 2. Czechoslovakia (27)3. Great Britain (25)4. Poland (7) | Bjorn Knutson | 11 |
| Per Olof Söderman | 10 | |||
| Ove Fundin | 7 | |||
| Göte Nordin | 6 | |||
| Rune Sörmander | 3 | |||
| 1964 |  Abensberg Abensberg Stadion | 1. Sweden (34) 2.  Soviet Union (25)3. Great Britain (21)4. Poland (16) | Björn Knutson | 11 |
| Göte Nordin | 10 | |||
| Rune Sörmander | 7 | |||
| Ove Fundin | 6 | |||
| Sören Sjösten | 0 | |||
| 1967 | Malmö Malmö Stadion | 1. Sweden (32) 2. Poland (26)3. Great Britain (19)= Soviet Union (19) | Göte Nordin | 11 |
| Bengt Jansson | 9 | |||
| Ove Fundin | 6 | |||
| Torbjörn Harrysson | 6 | |||
| Per Olof Söderman | - | |||
| 1970 | London Wembley Stadium | 1. Sweden (42) 2. Great Britain (31)3. Poland (20)4. Czechoslovakia (3) | Ove Fundin | 11 |
| Bengt Jansson | 11 | |||
| Anders Michanek | 10 | |||
| Sören Sjösten | 10 | |||
| Bernt Persson | - | |||
| 1994 | Brokstedt Holsteinring Brokstedt | 1. Sweden (23) 2. Poland (20)3.  Denmark (17)4. .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png){kind=small} Australia (17)5.  USA (17)6. Germany (16)= England (16) | Tony Rickardsson | 12+2 |
| Henrik Gustafsson | 11+2 | |||
| Mikael Karlsson | - | |||
| 2000 | Coventry Brandon Stadium | 1. Sweden (40) 2. England (40)3. USA (35)4. Australia (29) | Tony Rickardsson | 16 |
| Henrik Gustafsson | 12+2 | |||
| Peter Karlsson | 10+1 | |||
| Mikael Karlsson | 2 | |||
| Niklas Klingberg | 0 | |||
| 2003 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Sweden (62) 2. Australia (57)3. Denmark (53)4. Poland (49)5. Great Britain (44) | Mikael Max | 19+2 |
| Andreas Jonsson | 12 | |||
| Peter Karlsson | 10 | |||
| Peter Ljung | 10 | |||
| David Ruud | 5 | |||
| 2004 | Poole Poole Stadium | 1. Sweden (49) 2. Great Britain (48)3. Denmark (32)4. Poland (23) | Peter Karlsson | 12 |
| Tony Rickardsson | 12 | |||
| Antonio Lindbäck | 9 | |||
| Mikael Max | 9 | |||
| Andreas Jonsson | 7 | |||
| 2015 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Sweden (34) 2. Denmark (32)3. Poland (27)4. Australia (26) | Andreas Jonsson | 12 |
| Freddie Lindgren | 11 | |||
| Antonio Lindbäck | 7 | |||
| Linus Sundström | 4 | |||
Titles
World Pairs Championship
| Year | Riders |
|---|---|
| 1968 | Ove Fundin & Torbjörn Harrysson |
| 1973 | Anders Michanek & Tommy Jansson |
| 1974 | Anders Michanek & Sören Sjösten |
| 1975 | Anders Michanek & Tommy Jansson |
| 1993 | Tony Rickardsson, Per Jonsson & Henrik Gustafsson |
International caps (as of 2022)
Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[7]
References
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "1994 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP/ SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS" (PDF). Motor Sport Top 20. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ Matthews/Morrison, Peter/Ian (1987). The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Guinness Superlatives. p. 290. ISBN 0-85112-492-5.
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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