How the "Steel Grandfather" Gustav Hokansson put cycling champions to shame

Sometimes ordinary people, accustomed to hard daily work, are able to put titled athletes behind their belts. This was the case with Ivan Poddubny and many other legendary athletes who came to the big sport from the street. But the case of the "Steel Grandfather" Gustav Hokansson is special, since this man began his phenomenal sports career in his declining years.

Swedish farmer Gustav Hokansson was born in 1885 and devoted his whole life to hard peasant labor. Together with his wife Maria, they raised 10 children, and when they grew up and left, they opened a small cafe in their native village. In general, an ordinary village family, of which there are many in Sweden, if not for one nuance. Gustav was passionately fond of bicycles.

The man rode everywhere on a two-wheeled friend and sometimes traveled considerable distances. When Gustav changed his seventh decade, everyone thought that he would send his bike to the barn and take a place at the counter of his cafe, but it was not there. At 66, Hokansson pedaled as cheerfully as at 30 and still had no intention of changing it to a rocking chair.

Moreover, when Gustav saw an announcement in the morning newspaper that the most prestigious and longest cycling race in the history of Sweden was planned, he certainly decided to participate in it. An elderly farmer signed up for selection, but, alas, his candidacy was immediately withdrawn.

But the official refusal did not affect the determination of the stubborn farmer in any way. Gustav got on his old bike and went to the start of the race. Having overcome 600 km, an amateur cyclist appeared among the participants, with a headlamp and brand-new mudguards on the wings of the bike.

The old man attached a basket of groceries to the trunk, and the number "0" was painted on a piece of cloth on his chest. This important detail made it clear to everyone that in front of them, though unofficial, but a participant in the race. However, because of the long gray beard, the number on the farmer's chest was almost invisible.

At the solemn moment of the start of the race, the strange old man was wiped off the starting line and Gustav set off 20 seconds later than the others. But even if he decided to have lunch and take a nap for a couple of hours, it would not give his rivals any advantages.

Those present were puzzled by the fact that the leader was a 66-year-old man. But their surprise reached the limit when it turned out that Gustav was ahead of the next rider for the whole day. It was unbelievable, but an explanation was soon found. It turns out that the unofficial participant of the competition grossly violated the rules, but this did not devalue his victory at all.

The rules of arrival said that participants should stop check-in at night and sleep until morning. Hokansson rode at night, lighting his way with a headlamp and a bicycle headlight. He stopped to rest for no more than an hour, which allowed him to break away from the other participants so much. After 300 miles of the race, Gustav broke away from other athletes by 20 miles, and three days later the gap was as much as 120 miles!

Just a kilometer from the finish line, an old cyclist had an emergency - a flat front wheel. Gustav dismounted and rolled his iron friend for a while, and then got back into the saddle and crossed the line properly - pedaling. On July 7, 1951, at 14:15, an elderly farmer Hokansson won an unprecedented victory in a bicycle race, to which he was not allowed due to his age.

But even after this triumph, the race judges did not recognize Gustav Hokansson as the winner and gave the first place and a cash prize to another cyclist. However, it was not important for the winner, because the whole Swedish people considered him the champion. Enthusiastic fans sent the old man money and gifts, knowing that he was deprived of the prize. "Steel grandfather" - that's what everyone around him began to call him, and it was hard to argue with that.

Hokansson's triumph overshadowed the glory of Sweden's largest cycling race and no one remembered about it and its official winners anymore. The whole of Sweden knew and loved a gray-bearded old man on an old bicycle, on which he went to sell geese to the fair, and then beat the champions in expensive sports cars.

Champion Gustav Hokansson advertises soda

The farmer was pleased with the victory, but he didn't need the glory. It was enough for Gustav that his doctor, who urged him to retire and change his bike for a stick, was put to shame. And he was also incredibly pleased that he was able to cross the whole country, see all its beauties and meet a lot of people.

That's what Hokansson said in an interview he gave a week after winning the race.

Yes, Hokansson continued to pedal further and sent his equipment to rust in the barn only a couple of years before his death. And the most amazing cyclist of the planet died in 1987 at the age of 102. His wife Maria, who was 4 years older than her husband, died a year earlier, having lived 105 years. By the way, she did not like bicycles and was always skeptical about her husband's hobby.