Biography (english)

What Else is there to do?

Just about halfways into the year of 1977 an unusually wild and alert boy was born. The things he liked the most was climbing the bookshelves and playing soccer indoors. He grew up with his parents in and around Sandviken. Already as a youngster he could be spotted on rinks and ovals not only around town but also all over the country as he accompanied his father to the speed skating competitions he took part in. When he eventually started racing as a five-year-old there were many who were astonished of what the little kid could do on a pair of skates. His mother was a bit concerned about the amount of time he spent on the rink in the neighbourhood. Like any other kid he went to preschool, the only difference was that mom had a deal with the teachers, she could leave him at the nearby rink in the morning instead of bringing him indoors, as is customary. The teachers would call him in at lunch to feed him something quick before he would get back on the ice, where mom would pick him up after finishing her work. Even though, he had spent all day on the ice he could be hard to get indoors at night. 7-8 hours on the ice a day was not unusual. As the ice melted and when sometimes was not allowed outdoors he often rose the question:
- What else is there to do?  

As the years passed by the family expanded with an additional for brothers, who also set their mind to getting around the ovals as fast as possible. A lot of time has passed since the smallest boy in high school turned big, in size and maybe also in merit?   

Sport, the Passion

Sports has always been his passion. He has tried several sports until he decided to stick with speed skating. When the kid turned four his mother decided to get him of the shelves and activate him in an orderly fashion. She took him to gymnastics class hoping that he would spend all his energy to make him easier to put to bed. It lasted a few times and the kid learned to do cart-wheels, which he still can. Somehow, the boy found it more fun accompanying his father to dry-land training, though not every time to train. Along side speed skating he kept doing other sports. At the age of eight the spontaneous soccer playing in the neighbourhood got more organized. He enrolled in his first soccer team, Högbo AIK, a well-known club in Sandviken. In this team all his friends gathered, boys and girls. It was a good team maybe not the best but far from the worsted. Soccer kept a spell on him during summers for an additional twelve years and Högbo AIK got replaced with Järbo IF and eventually BK Sport Eskilstuna. The highpoint of his soccer career was when he as apart of Järbo IF’s team got to play an exhibition game at the national stadium, opening the world cup qualifying game Sweden vs. France.

If soccer kept a spell on him during summers bandy kept him in a strong-hold during winters for a number of season. He played both minor- and junior-league. The town had only one team, SAIK, so there was no question of where to play. When, eventually, bandy let him go he could look back at a number of league victories and several good placeing’s in tournaments all over. Through all these years of sports speed skating runs as a thread. Through this multitude of sport activity he got himself a broad base that has helped him to reach the position that he is in today.

1993 a promising young skater got accepted to speed skating high school in Eskilstuna. He was one of the last to be accepted that year. But with a stubborn mind and an awareness of where he wanted to go he finished as one of top students and one of the best skaters in the country. Education continued at the university college of Gävle. He stayed for three semesters studding the teachers trainee program before skating got the upper hand again. He spent one year working but eventually his quest for knowledge dragged him back to school this time to study English. This semester was the best of his sporting career; 3 Swedish records, and the fasted times ever skated on Swedish soil on 1500-,3000- and 5000m. This year he was ranked number one in Sweden. This year also brought some good placeing’s at the European championships Hamar, Norway, and the World Single Distance Championships in Nagano, Japan.  

Personal Bests                                            

500m             37.81         Heerenveen        03-01-2003 
1000m           1.14.31      Inzell                  09-03-2002  
1500m           1.50.45      Calgary              29-01-2000   
3000m           3.55.62      Hamar-OH        12-02-2000
5000m           6.29.50      Hamar                  30-01-2000 
10000m         13.51.77    Heerenveen        03-03-2004
Gr vk:            166.519     Stockholm          02-03-2003
Kl vk:             155.719     Hamar-OH        12-02-2000
Sp vk:            154,000     Göteborg            26-01-2003
300m:            27.03         Hagaström           02-02-1998

Personal Development the Last 7 years:

          500     1000     1500        3000      5 000        10 000
 S98   38.55  1.21.2   1.55.08    4.07.2    6.56.90     16.05.66  
 S99   38.76  1.18.26 1.54.88    4.10.6    6.54.73     14.39.93  
 S00   37.95  1.16.7   1.50.45    3.55.62  6.36.89     14.42.13  
 S01   38.52  1.15.69 1.51.56    4.07.4    6.43.87     14.14.49 
 S02   38.11  1.14.31 1.53.75    3.58.65  6.48.67     14.24.67 
 S03   37.81  1.16.3   1.53.20    4.09.95  6.45.71     14.45.05
 S04   38.51  1.17.11 1.52.26    3.58.33  6.39.86     13.53.30
 S05   37.86  1.15.     1.50.90    4.04       6.29.50     13.51.75
 S06   37.44  1.19.29 1.48.57    3.46.86  6.22.94     14.36.20 

 

Copyright 2004 Sebastian Falk.