Hjördis Töpel

Hjördis Viktoria Töpel (4 January 1904[lower-alpha 1] – 17 March 1987) was a Swedish[1] freestyle swimmer and diver who competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris and at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.[2]

Hjördis Töpel
Personal information
Born4 January 1904
Gothenburg, Sweden
Died17 March 1987 (aged 83)
Gothenburg, Sweden
Sport
SportSwimming, diving
ClubSK Najaden, Göteborg
Medal record
Representing Sweden
Olympic Games
Swimming
Bronze medal – third place 1924 Paris 4×100m freestyle relay
Diving
Bronze medal – third place 1924 Paris 10 metre platform

She competed in both diving and swimming at the 1924 Olympics. In swimming she entered the 200m breaststroke, the 100m and 400m freestyle events and the 4×100m freestyle relay. Her team won bronze in the relay and she finished seventh in the breaststroke. She also won an individual bronze medal in the Women's 10m Platform event.[3][4]

Remarkably, there were two female athletes at the 1924 Olympics who won medals in both diving and swimming. Hjördis Töpel and American Aileen Riggin both won diving and swimming medals, making them the first two female athletes to win medals in two different sports at a single Olympic games.[lower-alpha 2]

In 1928 Töpel only competed in diving, alongside her younger sister Ingegärd.[3][4][5] They both took part in the Women's 10m Platform event but neither of them advanced into the final round.

References
  1. John Nauright, Charles Parrish, ed. (2012). Sports around the world: history, culture, and practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 88. ISBN 9781598843002.
  2. "Hjördis Töpel". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  3. Hjördis Töpel at the Olympics Olympian Database
  4. "Hjördis Töpel". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012.
  5. Hjördis Töpel Swedish Olympic Committee

Further reading

Notes
  1. Other sources report her date of birth as 5 January 1904.
  2. Most sources claim Aileen Riggin to be the only female in Olympic history to win medals in both swimming and diving at a single Olympic Games, but the medal tables show that this is not true. The distinction may be in the fact that Töpel's swimming medal was for a team event so she did not in fact win two "individual" medals.


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