Gosta Olander

Gösta Olander ( August 11, 1893 in Ytterån , Jämtland - July 14, 1972 in Vålådalen ) was a Swedish coach , sports official and filmmaker .

resume

Olander spent his youth in northern Sweden, where he was active in football, bandy , cross-country skiing , tennis and athletics and was mostly active for Luleå Sportklubb (LSK) and Näldens IF and was an outdoor enthusiast and also a mountaineer . From 1931 to 1970 he was a ski instructor and organizer of the Vålådalens Tourist Station. He developed this into a popular holiday resort for outdoor enthusiasts as early as 1934 and as a training center for orienteering and athletics in summer and cross-country skiing in winter. The success of Gunder Hägg and the 1948 Winter Olympics with six medals for Sweden in cross-country skiing made it the national training center and Olander became the dominant coach for endurance in Sweden.

Training philosophy

Olander stood for natural training that could be explained scientifically, but did not seem to be rationally controlled. While the scientifically based interval training was initially developed in Germany at the same time, it appeared machine-like with the same loads, while Olander favored self-determined training in the great outdoors with the driving game ( Fartlek ). However, through the individualization and listening to itself of training, Olander was thirty years ahead of his time. Michel Jazy and Michel Bernard were among the top athletes, along with the Scandinavian athletes, who regularly consulted Olander in Vålådalen and came there for training. The successes of the Swedish cross-country skiers confirmed the dominance of natural training, which was only planned rationally after Olander's retirement.

Documentary filmmaker

From 1930 to 1950 Olander was also a prominent documentary filmmaker in the north of Sweden, especially for the Swedish Tourism Association, but also about Gunder Hägg and cross-country skiing, ski jumping on Holmenkollen, etc. He made life in the great outdoors in Scandinavia even more popular.

Publications by Gösta Olander

http://services.bibliothek.kit.edu/kvk/view-title/index.php?katalog=WORLDCAT&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldcat.org%3A80%2Ftitle%2Fsvensk-fjallsport-handledning-vid- farder-i-fjallen-sommar-och-vinter% 2Foclc% 2F23914318% 26referer% 3Dbrief_results & showCoverImg = 1

Individual evidence

^ Daniel Svensson: Changing tracks? The battle between natural and scientific training in Swedish cross-country skiing, 1948-1972. Idrott, historia och samhälle 2014, pp. 12–41.
↑ Arnd Krüger (1998) Many roads lead to the Olympics. The changes in the training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997), in: N. GISSEL (Hrsg.): Sportliche Leistungs im Wandel. Hamburg: Czwalina, pp. 41 - 56.

personal data
SURNAME	Olander, Gosta
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Swedish trainer, sports official and filmmaker
DATE OF BIRTH	August 11, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ytterån , Jämtland
DATE OF DEATH	July 14, 1972
Place of death	Vålådalen

[1] Daniel Svensson: Changing tracks? The battle between natural and scientific training in Swedish cross-country skiing, 1948-1972. Idrott, historia och samhälle 2014, pp. 12–41.

[2] Arnd Krüger (1998) Many roads lead to the Olympics. The changes in the training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997), in: N. GISSEL (Hrsg.): Sportliche Leistungs im Wandel. Hamburg: Czwalina, pp. 41 - 56.