Grafström, Gillis |
| ICE SKATER (SWEDEN) |
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BORN 7 Jun 1893, Stockholm - DIED 14 Apr 1938, Potsdam, Brandenburg BIRTH NAME Grafström, Gillis Emanuel CAUSE OF DEATH blood poisoning GRAVE LOCATION Potsdam, Brandenburg: Evangelischer Friedhof Bornstedt, Ribbeckstraße |
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Gillis Grafström took part in the last World Championship Figure Skating before the First World War in 1914. After the war he won Oympic gold medals in 1920, 1924 and 1928. In 1924 in Antwerp one of his skates broke before. He only managed to purchase old fashioned skates as a replacement, but he still won. In 1932 he added a silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. From 1925 until his death he lived in Potsdam. He studied architecture in Berlin and worked as an architect. In February 1938 he married Cçile von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, but he died two months after the marriage of blood poisoning. Cécile continued collection of graphics, paintings and sculptures about skating. It is now at the World Figure Skating Museum in Colorado Springs. Family • Wife: Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Cécile von (1938-1938) |
| Images |
 The grave of Gillis Grafström and Cécile Mendelssohn-Bartholdy at the Bornstedter Friedhof, Potsdam. Picture by Androom (22 Aug 2017) |
