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| - Gustaf Håkansson was a real person who participated in the 1951 Sverigeloppet race in Sweden. The length of the race, which took place between the cities of Haparanda and Ystad, aligns closely with the commonly reported distance of 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles).
However, Håkansson did not officially win the race, as he was not recognized as a competitor by the event organizers. Moreover, Håkansson was 65, not 66, at the time of the race.
Reports suggest that the maximum age limit for the race was 40, which would have disqualified Håkansson, but we could not independently verify this detail. Additionally, some sources claimed that only 50 men were allowed to participate, but the exact criteria for selection remain unclear.
For years, a story has circulated on social media about a 66-year-old man who allegedly won an 1,800-kilometer (1,118-mile) bike race despite being too old to compete. The story is often accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of an elderly man riding a bicycle.
In 1951, a 66 year old man wasn't allowed to enter a 1800km (1118 miles) long bicycle race because of being "too old". He showed up anyways and won the race by biking for days without sleep. He got the nickname "Grandpa Steel".
byu/Green____cat ininteresting
"In 1951, a 66 year old man wasn't allowed to enter a 1800km (1118 miles) long bicycle race because of being 'too old'. He showed up anyways and won the race by biking for days without sleep. He got the nickname 'Grandpa Steel,'" one Reddit post claimed (archived).
The story spread on various social media platforms, including X, 9GAG, YouTube, Quora, iFunny, Imgur and Reddit.
In short, the story was a mixture of true, false and undetermined information.
Håkansson and the Race Existed
To start, Gustaf (or Gustav) Håkansson and the Sverigeloppet race existed. It's also true that Håkansson was given the nickname "Stålfarfar," which means "Steel Grandfather" (or "Grandpa Steel") in English. The Swedish Digital Museum has published numerous photographs of Håkansson, as well as other memorabilia from the Sverigeloppet race, on its website.
A search of Swedish newspaper archives revealed that the search terms "Sverigeloppet" and "Stålfarfar" first gained popularity in 1951. Unfortunately, full search results and previews of the newspapers were not accessible online.
(Svenska tidningar)
Håkansson was also mentioned in several 1951 issues of a Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
The story was therefore based in reality, but some of its details remain unsubstantiated or false.
How Old Was Håkansson?
Social media posts and several news articles claimed Håkansson was 66. For instance, a story published in The Guardian in 2013 read: "In 1951, a 66-year-old Swede crossed the winning line on a rusty old roadster with a flat tyre – and became a cycling legend." However, some Swedish-language sources, such as a website for Skövde municipality, indicated he was "almost 66 years old" — i.e., he was 65.
In fact, Håkansson was born on Oct. 15, 1885, which means that on the race date, July 4, 1951, he was indeed 65, not 66.
An online archive containing thousands of digitized Swedish newspapers and magazines from 1645 to the present day revealed that Håkansson has been alternately described as either 65 or 66 over the years. This discrepancy likely stems from disregarding his birth month and simply subtracting his birth year, 1885, from 1951.
Too Old To Enter Sverigeloppet?
The Sverigeloppet race, organized by the Stockholms-Tidningen newspaper and the Husqvarna factory, was reportedly held 10 times between 1951 and 1964 to "highlight the usefulness of the bicycle as a means of transportation."
Reportedly, the maximum age for participants was 40, which would indeed have disqualified Håkansson, who was over 60 at the time. Additionally, some sources claimed that "only 50 men were allowed to participate," suggesting that age was not the sole limiting factor.
While we were unable to independently verify these details, news reports from the 1950s consistently stated that Håkansson was not officially permitted to compete in the race.
How Long Was the Race?
According to numerous social media posts, the race was 1,800 kilometers (1,118 miles) long. However, an article by Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish daily newspaper, claimed the race was 176 kilometers (109 miles), while in 2013 The Guardian mentioned "One person will say it was 1,000 miles he rode, and the next might say it was 1,000km. One might say he was 66 years old, when someone else heard that, no; he rode 66 miles at 1,000 years of age." Another source stated the race was "about 2,000 kilometers long."
The Sverigeloppet race stretched across the entire length of Sweden, beginning in Haparanda and concluding in Ystad. According to Google Maps, the distance between the two cities is 1,760 kilometers (1,094 miles), closely matching the reported race length of 1,800 kilometers.
(Google Maps )
Won the Race, Biking for Days Without Sleep?
According to The Guardian, Håkansson "cheated" by sleeping, though not in the traditional sense, since he wasn't an official competitor. Unlike the official racers, who were required to stop at checkpoints overnight, Håkansson rested only for an hour before continuing through the night. "The time allowed him to make up for the 10 miles he was behind to put, after 300 miles, a 20-mile gap between him and the rest of the pack," the article claimed. However, since he wasn't an official competitor he couldn't officially win the race.
The race was reportedly "revived" in 2017 through the initiative of Swedish Olympic cyclist Bernt Johansson.
We have reached out to the Sundsvalls Museum and several local entities and newspapers for more information regarding the race. This article will be updated if we receive any responses.
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