Björn Hellberg (born 4 August 1944) is a Swedish
sports journalist, author, tennis
oracle and TV personality, best known as co-host and referee of the television show "
På spåret
''På spåret'' (''On the Track'') is a popular Swedish TV game show series broadcast on SVT since 5 September 1987. The show, which is intended to be humorous yet educational, has remained one of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, attracting ...
".
He was born in
Borås
Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010.
Geography
Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them th ...
, Sweden, but his family soon moved to
Laholm
Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015.
Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''.
The town is located at the ...
.
Although he participated as a competitor during the early years of "På spåret", later (in the team in which
Bengt Grive
Bengt Edvin Axel Grive, né ''Gustafsson'' (21 March 1921 – 17 September 2003) was a Swedish sports commentator, journalist and author.
Career
Grive was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Edvin Gustafsson and Elsa (née Lindström). Grive ...
and Mats Strandberg also participated), he turned out to be an "oracle" in all possible subjects outside
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
, his absolute favorite subject. Together with his friend, the equally esteemed Swedish television celebrity
Ingvar Oldsberg
Ingvar Gunnar Oldsberg (31 March 194510 February 2022) was a Swedish television presenter and sports journalist.
Early life
Oldsberg was born on 31 March 1945 in Annedal Parish, Gothenburg. Oldsberg grew up in Mölnlycke outside Gothenburg. On ...
, Hellberg has participated in many other television programmes. During the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
1992 in
Albertville
Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France.
It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
, Hellberg and Oldsberg became a television pair who were so impressed by the Norwegian successes there, that they gave each other Norwegian names and told the viewers that they had to emigrate and become Norwegians, in a playful tone. Oldsberg gave Hellberg the Norwegian name "Hellbakken". Hellberg lives in Laholm and has also become an honorary citizen of this town in
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...
, Sweden, where a street has been named after him – ''Hellbakken'', the nickname Oldsberg had given him during the 1992 Winter Olympics.
Hellberg is also an author of several crime novels, initially inspired by
Stieg Trenter, some of which have been translated to other languages.
In 2011, Hellberg became a Hall of Fame member at ''Svenska Tennismuséet'', in
Båstad He has at several occasions expressed sympathies for
Sunderland FC
Sunderland Association Football Club (, ) is an English professional football club based in the city of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Formed in 1879, Sunderland play in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club has won six t ...
. He is sometimes seen at
Örjans Vall
Örjans Vall is a football stadium in Halmstad, Sweden, built in 1922.
History
The stadium was originally named ''Halmstads Idrottsplats'' (eng: Halmstad's Sports Ground), and was inaugurated by the Crown Prince of Sweden Gustaf Adolf, later ...
watching
Halmstad BK
Halmstads Bollklubb, also known simply as Halmstad () or (especially locally) HBK or Bollklubben, is a Swedish Association football, football club located in Halmstad in the county of Halland. The club, formed 7 February 1914 and approved members ...
(and also Laholm's own small club at home).
Partial bibliography
* "Gråt i mörker" (1981)
* "Födde: en dotter" (1988)
* "Dråpslaget" (1992)
* "Rovlystnad" (1993)
* "Inte önskvärd" (1994)
* "Slutkört" (1995)
* "Då dagboken dog" (1996)
* "Gräddhyllan" (1997)
* "Förhäxad" (1998)
* "Hedersmord" (1998), (In Dutch, "Eremoord")
* "Panelhönan" (1999), (In Dutch, "Voyeur")
* "Misstaget" (2000)
* "Tacksägelsen" (2000)
* "Hotelldöd" (2001)
* "Den grå" (2001)
* "Funny Fanny" (2002)
* "Paria" (2003)
* "Karaoke" (2004)
* "Dominans" (2005)
* "Dödslängtan" (2006)
* "Trofésamlaren" (2007)
* "Nattvandraren" (2008)
* "Den flerfaldige mördaren" (2010)
* "Sankte Per" (2012)
* "Skarprättaren" (2012)
* "Skumrask" (2013)
* "De tysta" (2014)
* "De hatiska" (2015)
* "Dödsdrycken" (2016)
* "Likspett" (2017)
* "Narrspegel" (2020)
* "Lastbart" (2021)
* "Vena amoris" (2022)
References
External links
The personal site of Björn Hellberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellberg, Bjorn
Swedish sports journalists
Swedish sports broadcasters
Living people
Swedish male writers
Swedish television personalities
Sommar (radio program) hosts
1944 births