Olle Nygren

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Swedish speedway rider (1929–2021)

title: "Olle Nygren" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1929-births", "2021-deaths", "motorcycle-racers-from-stockholm", "deaths-from-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-england", "swedish-speedway-riders", "harringay-racers-riders", "norwich-stars-riders", "swindon-robins-riders", "wimbledon-dons-riders", "west-ham-hammers-riders", "ipswich-witches-riders", "coventry-bees-riders", "king's-lynn-stars-riders", "swedish-expatriate-speedway-riders-in-england", "bristol-bulldogs-riders", "southampton-saints-riders", "new-cross-rangers-riders", "125cc-world-championship-riders", "individual-speedway-long-track-world-championship-riders", "swedish-emigrants-to-the-united-kingdom", "vargarna-riders"] description: "Swedish speedway rider (1929–2021)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olle_Nygren" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Swedish speedway rider (1929–2021) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Speedway rider"]

FieldValue
imageOlle Nygren.jpg
nameOlle Nygren
nationalitySwedish
birth_date
captionOlle Nygren in the 1970s
nicknameVarg-Olle
birth_placeStockholm, Sweden
death_date
death_placeIpswich, England
career1Sweden
years21948-1953, 1960,
1962-1963, 1967-1979
career2Vargarna
years31954-1959
career3Monarkerna
career4Great Britain
years51951
career5Harringay Racers
years61953
career6New Cross Rangers
years71953
career7Bristol Bulldogs
years81954, 1965-1968
career8Wimbledon Dons
years91960
career9Southampton Saints
years101962
career10Swindon Robins
years111962-1964
career11Norwich Stars
years121969-1971
career12West Ham Hammers
years131972-1974
career13Ipswich Witches
years141974
career14Coventry Bees
years151975
career15King's Lynn Stars
indivyear11954, 1960
indivhonour1Nordic Champion
indivyear21949
indivhonour2Swedish Champion
teamyear11960
teamhonour1World Team Cup
teamyear21968
teamhonour2British League KO Cup winner
teamyear31968
teamhonour3London Cup Winner
teamyear41949, 1951, 1953,
1955, 1956, 1960
teamhonour4Allsvenskan Champion
teamyear51963
teamhonour5National Trophy
::

| image = Olle Nygren.jpg | name = Olle Nygren | nationality = Swedish | birth_date = | caption = Olle Nygren in the 1970s | nickname = Varg-Olle | birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden | death_date = | death_place = Ipswich, England

| career1 = Sweden | years2 = 1948-1953, 1960, 1962-1963, 1967-1979 | career2 = Vargarna | years3 = 1954-1959 | career3 = Monarkerna | career4= Great Britain | years5 = 1951 | career5 = Harringay Racers | years6 = 1953 | career6 = New Cross Rangers | years7 = 1953 | career7 = Bristol Bulldogs | years8 = 1954, 1965-1968 | career8 = Wimbledon Dons | years9 = 1960 | career9 = Southampton Saints | years10 = 1962 | career10 = Swindon Robins | years11 = 1962-1964 | career11 = Norwich Stars | years12 = 1969-1971 | career12 = West Ham Hammers | years13 = 1972-1974 | career13 = Ipswich Witches | years14 = 1974 | career14 = Coventry Bees | years15 = 1975 | career15 = King's Lynn Stars

| indivyear1 = 1954, 1960 | indivhonour1 = Nordic Champion | indivyear2 = 1949 | indivhonour2 = Swedish Champion | teamyear1 = 1960 | teamhonour1 = World Team Cup | teamyear2 = 1968 | teamhonour2 = British League KO Cup winner | teamyear3 = 1968 | teamhonour3 = London Cup Winner | teamyear4 = 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1960 | teamhonour4 = Allsvenskan Champion | teamyear5 = 1963 | teamhonour5 = National Trophy Harald Olof Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021){{cite book | last = Oakes | first = Peter |author2=Mauger, Ivan OBE, MBE |author-link2=Ivan Mauger | title = Who's Who of World Speedway | publisher = Studio Publications Ltd | year = 1976 | location = Ipswich| isbn = 0-904584-04-6 }} was a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times. He earned 90 caps for the Sweden national speedway team.

Career

Nygren was the inaugural Swedish Champion during the 1949 Swedish speedway season. He also helped his Swedish team Vargarna win the Swedish Speedway Team Championship. He started riding in Great Britain during the 1951 Speedway National League, when he joined the Harringay Racers.

He soon established himself as a leading rider, recording exceptional averages for New Cross Rangers and then Bristol Bulldogs during the 1953 Speedway National League season. After a season with Wimbledon Dons in 1954 he would not ride in Britain again until 1960. In the meantime, he reached several world finals and was considered a world class rider, winning his second Nordic Championship and the World Team Cup in 1960.

He returned to British speedway in 1960 and would ride until the end of the 1975 season, regularly topping the team averages. Ipswich Witches, Coventry Bees and King's Lynn Stars.

After retirement, Nygren set up a successful speedway training school. Nygren lived in England from the 1960s. He died in Ipswich at the age of 91, after contracting COVID-19; he had previously been treated for laryngeal cancer.

World Final appearances

Individual World Championship

  • 1953 – ENG London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 12+2pts
  • 1954 – ENG London, Wembley Stadium – 3rd - 13+2pts
  • 1955 – ENG London, Wembley Stadium – 8th - 9pts
  • 1958 – ENG London, Wembley Stadium – 7th - 9pts
  • 1959 – ENG London, Wembley Stadium – 4th - 11+2pts

World Team Cup

World Longtrack Championship

  • 1957 - Semi-final
  • 1958 - FRG Muhldorf (14th)
  • 1959 - FIN Helsinki (Third)
  • 1960 - FRG Plattling (9th)
  • 1961 - NOR Oslo (Second)
  • 1978 - Qualifying Round
  • 1979 - Qualifying Round

Formula One

In 1962, Nygren took part in a minor Formula One race, the Kanonloppet, at the Karlskoga Circuit at Karlskoga in his home country of Sweden. He drove a Lotus 18 loaned to him by American driver Jay Chamberlain. Nygren qualified tenth of the ten starters, and had to retire after just six laps with a gearbox failure.

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key) ::data[format=table]

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617181920Ecurie ExcelsiorLotus 18Climax Straight-4
1962CAPBRXLOMLAVGLVPAUAININTNAPMALCLPRMSSOLKAN
RetMEDDANOULMEXRANNAT
::

References

References

  1. Oakes, Peter. (1981). "1981 Speedway Yearbook". Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd.
  2. (13 February 2021). "Motorsport-legendaren "Varg-Olle" är död".
  3. Belton, Brian (2003). ''Hammerin' Round''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing {{ISBN. 0-7524-2438-6
  4. "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022".
  5. "Swedish speedway season by season".
  6. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009".
  7. (12 April 1970). "Nordin ignored".
  8. (13 February 2021). "Varg-Olle Nygren död – "Han var en levnadskonstnär"". Dagens Nyheter.
  9. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championship''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN. 0-7524-2402-5
  10. Thompson, John (1974). ''The Formula One Record Book''. London: Leslie Frewin Publishing. {{ISBN. 0-85632-097-8. pp.106-107

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1929-births2021-deathsmotorcycle-racers-from-stockholmdeaths-from-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-englandswedish-speedway-ridersharringay-racers-ridersnorwich-stars-ridersswindon-robins-riderswimbledon-dons-riderswest-ham-hammers-ridersipswich-witches-riderscoventry-bees-ridersking's-lynn-stars-ridersswedish-expatriate-speedway-riders-in-englandbristol-bulldogs-riderssouthampton-saints-ridersnew-cross-rangers-riders125cc-world-championship-ridersindividual-speedway-long-track-world-championship-ridersswedish-emigrants-to-the-united-kingdomvargarna-riders