Jonas Lars Persson (born 15 December 1983) is an Olympic

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He swam for his homeland at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Biography

Persson was born 15 December 1983 in Slottstaden in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, to Lars and Ingegerd Persson. In 2002, Jonas Persson won his first individual title in the

Swedish Swimming Championships The Swedish Swimming Championships () are held annually in the Swedish summer in outdoor 50 m pool. The championships sometimes also works as trials for the Summer Olympics, World Championships and European Championships. Swimmers represen ...

, on 200 m freestyle, after having won a silver in the

Swedish Short Course Swimming Championships The Swedish Short Course Swimming Championships () are annually in late November in an indoor 25m pool. The championships sometimes also works as trials for the World Championships and European Short Course Swimming Championships. Swimmers repre ...

earlier the same year. Persson swam and attended school at the USA's

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

for two years (2004–06), and more recently was at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

(2006–09), where he majored in Marketing and International Business. At the 2008 European Championships, he swam the anchor leg of Sweden's winning 4×100 m freestyle relay; also on the relay were Marcus Piehl,

Stefan Nystrand Stefan Nystrand (born 20 October 1981) is a freestyle swimmer from Sweden. Biography His father Sture Nystrand is a Swede and his mother Smiljana Kokeza is a Croat from Split. Nystrand, a short course (25 m) specialist, has won five individu ...

and

Petter Stymne Petter Stymne (born 9 May 1983 in Södra Ryd, Skövde Municipality Sweden) is a Swedish swimmer from Skövde, representing SK Neptun from Stockholm. He competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Stymne bec ...

. Persson also participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

for Sweden in the 100 m freestyle, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and the 4×100 medley relay. He finished 13th in the 100 m freestyle and 5th in the 4×100 freestyle relay, alongside

Lars Frölander Lars Arne Frölander (born 26 May 1974) is a Sweden, Swedish swimming (sport), swimmer. He has competed in six consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012). Biography Frölander was born in Boden, Sweden, Boden. He grew up i ...

and

. The medley relay team consisting of

Simon Sjödin Simon Olov Sjödin (born 4 October 1986) is a Swedish competitive swimmer who represented Sweden at both the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2016 Olympic Games. He is of Gambian descent. Biography Simon Sjödin was born on 4 October 1986 into paren ...

, Jonas Andersson, Frölander and Persson finished 11th in the prelims. Persson has been a key member of the Swedish 4 × 100 m freestyle relay teams during the late 2000s, but missed the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships () or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. This was the second time the championships were held in the city after being previously hosted in 1994 World Aq ...

in Rome because of an injured shoulder. Persson was the assistant coach for the University of Utah Swimming & Diving Team until May 2016. Persson coached at the University of Toledo from 2016-2019 and is now the assistant coach at the University of Utah Persson was named head coach for the University of Utah Swimming and Dive Team in May 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persson, Jonas Swedish male freestyle swimmers 1983 births Living people Arizona Wildcats men's swimmers Swedish expatriate swimmers in the United States Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Sweden European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Malmö KK swimmers Tennessee Volunteers men's swimmers Utah Utes swimming coaches Toledo Rockets swimming coaches Swimmers from Malmö 20th-century Swedish people 21st-century Swedish sportsmen