Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson

Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson (born 6 October 1976) is an Icelandic former professional basketball player who spent 17 seasons with Njarðvík, winning the Icelandic national championship three times and the Icelandic Basketball Cup three times.[1]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Friðrik.
Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson
Personal information
Born (1976-10-06) 6 October 1976
Iceland
NationalityIcelandic
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
Playing career1993–2015
PositionForward / center
Career history
1993–1994KR
1994–1995KFÍ
1995–1996Þór Ak
1996ÍV
1996–1998KFÍ
1998–2000Njarðvík
2000Lappeenrannan NMKY
2001–2015Njarðvík
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Iceland
Games of the Small States of Europe
Silver medal – second place 2001 San Marino National Team
Silver medal – second place 2003 Malta National Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Andorra National Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Andorra National Team

In 2006 he was voted as the Úrvalsdeild domestic player of the year.[2]

Early life and career

Friðrik grew up in Vestmannaeyjar where he started practicing basketball at the age of 16 with a local team called Týr.[3] During a school trip in Njarðvík in 1992, he was spotted by Axel Nikulásson, the head coach of the Icelandic U-16 team,[4] who selected him for the team's games in August that year.[5][4] He was the first player to play for the Icelandic national team before playing in any official games organized by the Icelandic Basketball Federation.[6] In December 1993, he joined KR for the rest of the 1993-1994 season.[7] In March 1994, he was injured on practice after a backboard of a basket fell on him after a dunk.[8] After starting the 1994-95 season with KR, he joined 1. deild karla club KFÍ in October. He started the following season with KFÍ, but left to join Úrvalsdeild club Þór Akureyri in November 1995. He left the club in February 1996 after failing to break into the rotation.[9] In March 1996, he appeared in two games for Íþróttafélag Vestmannaeyja (ÍV) in the 2. deild karla where he averaged 18.5 points per game.[10]

National team career

Between 1997 and 2008, Friðrik played 112 games for the Icelandic national team.[11] He was selected to Iceland's squad for the 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe but missed the games after suffering an eye injury on practice.[12]

Health problems

In 2007 Friðrik had a heart surgery to correct an atrial flutter problem.[13] In the previous years he had collapsed twice while playing, in the 2005 playoffs and once with the Icelandic national team.[14][15] He missed the 2008 Úrvalsdeild playoffs due to irregular heartbeat.[16]

In 2014 he retired from top division play, siding various injuries,[17] but continued to play with Njarðvík's B-team in the lower divisions. In 2015, in a game with the B-team, he collapsed once again[18] and had to be resuscitated.[19]

Awards and achievements

Club honours

Individual awards

References
  1. "Friðrik segir stopp". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 27 January 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  2. "Helena og Friðrik eru best". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 April 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. Valur B. Jónatansson (14 January 1997). "Ætlaði að hætta að æfa". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  4. "Friðrik byrjar feril sinn með landsliði". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 July 1992. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  5. "1,99 á hæð og notar skó nr. 50". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 July 1992. p. 2. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. "Friðrik Stefánsson spilaði sinn 104 landsleik fyrir Ísland". eyjar.net (in Icelandic). 30 August 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  7. "Góður tími til að prófa". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 15 December 1993. p. 50. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. "Íþróttir Fólk". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 10 March 1994. Retrieved 9 September 2018 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  9. "Friðrik hættur hjá Þórsurum". Dagur (in Icelandic). 15 February 1996. p. 11. Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  10. "Unnu báða andstæðinga sína". Eyjafréttir (in Icelandic). 21 March 1996. p. 18. Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is. open access
  11. "KKÍ | A landslið". kki.is. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  12. "Friðrik Stefánsson ekki með í Andorra". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 1 June 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  13. Stefán Stefánsson; Guðmundur Karl (12 October 2007). "Friðrik lætur aðgerð á hjarta ekki stöðva sig". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  14. "Friðrik Stefánsson á leið í hjartaaðgerð". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). 27 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  15. "Friðrik Stefánsson á leið í hjartaþræðingu". Víkurfréttir (in Icelandic). 27 September 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  16. "Friðrik Stefánsson ekki með Njarðvíkingum í úrslitakeppninni". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 26 March 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  17. "Friðrik Stefánsson leggur skóna á hilluna". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 26 January 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  18. Eiríkur Stefán Ásgeirsson (14 April 2015). "Friðrik hneig niður í leik með Njarðvík". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  19. Skúli Sigurðsson (15 April 2015). "Fagmenn Vol. 2". karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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