Sven Alfred Thofelt (19 May 1904 – 1 February 1993) was a Swedish modern pentathlete and épée fencer who competed at the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Thofelt was born on 19 May 1904 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of major Alfred Thofelt and his wife Vera Pousette.

Career

Military career

Thofelt was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Military Academy Karlberg in 1924 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to Svea Artillery Regiment in

. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1928 and attended the higher course at the

Artillery and Engineering College Artillery and Engineering College ( sv, Artilleri- och ingenjörhögskolan, AIHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment active between 1878 and 1992, providing courses for artillery officers. It was located within the Stockholm Garrison in Sto ...

from 1928 to 1930. Thofelt was promoted to captain in the Swedish Army Ordnance Corps in 1937 and served in Göta Artillery Regiment in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1938. He served as a teacher at the Military Academy Karlberg from 1938 to 1943 when he was promoted to major and was assigned to Karlsborg Anti-Aircraft Regiment in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland. History The town of Karl ...

. He transferred to Stockholm Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Stockholm in 1944 and to Luleå Anti-Aircraft Corps in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

in 1948. Thofelt then served as a lieutenant colonel in Stockholm Anti-Aircraft Regiment in 1949 and attended the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm in 1954. Thofelt was an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the

Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf A ...

(1938–47) and King Gustav V (1948–50). Thofelt was promoted to colonel in 1954 and was appointed commander of the Swedish Army Anti-Aircraft School (''Luftvärnsskjutskolan'', LvSS) in Stockholm in 1954. The year after Thofelt became commander of Östgöta Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Linköping, a post he held for two years. In 1957 he was appointed Inspector of the Swedish Anti-Aircraft Artillery. He retired in 1964.

Sports career

In the modern pentathlon, Thofelt won the gold medal in the 1928 Olympics and finished fourth in 1932 and 1936, competing in 1932 with broken ribs and injured arm due to a bad fall from the horse. In fencing, he won two team medals in 1936 and 1948, finishing ninth individually in 1932.Sven Thofelt
sports-reference.com He also won four bronze and two silver medals in the team épée at the world championships of 1931–1947. Nationally Thofelt won six titles in the modern pentathlon, three in the individual épée, and one in the 4 × 100 m freestyle swimming. In parallel with his military career, he served as a sports administrator. In 1948 he became secretary-general of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, and in 1960–1988 served as its president. He was also president of the Swedish Fencing Federation (1968) and of the executive board of the Swedish Olympic Committee (1969–76). Between 1970 and 1976 Thofelt was an IOC member and later an IOC honorary member.Sven Thofelt
Swedish Olympic Committee Thofelt was the Swedish team leader at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

, where his son Björn competed in the modern pentathlon. Björn previously won the world title in 1954.Björn Thofelt
Swedish Olympic Committee

Personal life

In 1932, Thofelt married Birgit Friis (born 1910), the daughter of Lieutenant General Torsten Friis and Lotty Salin. They had five children: Lars (1933–2021), Björn (born 1935), (1939–2010), Hans (born 1942) and Ulla (born 1944).

Dates of rank

*1924 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*1928 – Lieutenant *1937 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1943 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*1949 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

*1954 – Colonel

Awards and decorations

Swedish

King Gustaf V's Jubilee Commemorative Medal (1948) * Order_of_the_Polar_Star_-_Ribbon_bar,_pre_1975

King Gustaf V's Commemorative Medal (1951) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st CLass of the Order of the Sword * Försvarsutbildarnas_förtjänstmedalj

Swedish Central Federation for Voluntary Military Training Medal of Merit in silver * Swedish Fencing Federation Gold Medal (''Svenska fäktförbundets guldmedalj'') * Swedish Military Sports Association Gold Medal (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbunds guldmedalj'', SvmifbGM) *

Swedish Sports Confederation The Swedish Sports Confederation ( sv, Riksidrottsförbundet, RF) is the umbrella organisation of the Swedish sports movement. Through its member organisations, it has three million members in 22,000 clubs. The Confederation was formed on 31 May 1 ...

Gold Medal (''Sveriges riksidrottsförbunds guldmedalj'', SvrifbGM) * Stockholm Air Defence Association Silver Medal (''Stockholms luftvärnsförenings silvermedalj'') * Commemorative Medal on the occasion of the second Lingiad (''Minnesmedalj med anledning av andra Lingiaden'') (1949)

Foreign

CHL_Order_of_Merit_of_Chile_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

PRT_Military_Order_of_Aviz_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the Military Order of Aviz * FIN_Order_of_the_White_Rose_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland * DEU_Deutsche_Adlerorden_1_BAR

Knight of the Order of the German Eagle * French Gold Medal ''de l’Education Physique'' * 2nd Class of the Finland's Olympic Cross of Merit (''Suomen Olympialainen 2. luokan ansioristin'')

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1956)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thofelt, Sven 1904 births 1993 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male modern pentathletes Swedish male épée fencers Olympic modern pentathletes for Sweden Olympic fencers for Sweden Modern pentathletes at the 1928 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1932 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in fencing Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon Sportspeople from Stockholm Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences