Olof “Olle” Alfred Rimfors (14 May 1896 – 26 February 1994) was a Swedish ski pioneer, ski instructor, military officer, and sports official. In 1934 he introduced alpine skiing in Sweden together with Sigge Bergman, after studying for a month at the ski school of Hannes Schneider in St. Anton am Arlberg and competing in the FIS Alpine World Championships.
Ski career and legacy
The early years
Olle Rimfors was born as Andersson in the small village of Vretstorp, Örebro County. His father ran the village hotel, a diary, and a sawmill. When he was four years old he got his first pair of skis as a Christmas present, skis that his father had bought in Norway while trading timber, only a few months before his sudden and tragic death in 1901. Skiing was still a rare novelty in the populated parts of Sweden, so Olle became self-taught after persistent practice on the heights where he lived above the village.
In 1912, Olle Rimfors joined Skidfrämjandet (the Association for the Promotion of Skiing in Sweden, now Swedish Outdoor Association) and shortly thereafter he began a career as a cross-country skier and ski jumper. He won three county championships in Västmanland-Närke for Örebro Sportklubb, in ski jumping 1921 and Nordic combined 1921 and 1922. He also won the prestigious Eberstein military competition in 1924 and the NOVOS competition in 1920, 1922, 1924 and 1930.
From 1927, Rimfors was a ski instructor at Skidfrämjandet's technique courses in Storlien. In 1931 he debuted as an author with the book Handbok i skidlöpning - del 1 (Handbook in skiing – part 1). The same year he shot the first Swedish film displaying alpine skiing, Tre män på skidor (Three Men on Skis), together with Gunnar Dyhlén and Folke Thörn, a propaganda film for alpine skiing and Skidfrämjandet's tourist facilities in Rämshyttan, Storlien and Riksgränsen. At the same time, Rimfors' acrobatic skills spread across the country via postcards with his front flip on skis.
The groundbreaking 1930s
Inspired by Hannes Schneider’s and Arnold Fanck’s book Wunder des Schneeschuhs, with images from the film with the same name, Rimfors decided to study the new Arlberg technique at the source in St. Anton. The chairman of Skidfrämjandet was Ivar Holmquist. He was also the head of Jämtland Ranger Corps in Östersund, where Rimfors served as an officer. Holmquist was also the chairman of Skidfrämjandet and the first president of the International Ski Federation (FIS), so he sponsored Rimfors and his friend Sigge Bergman (who later became secretary general of FIS), with 150 SEK each. Since Major General Holmquist was also vice chairman of Svenska Skidförbundet (the Swedish Ski Association), Rimfors and Bergman got another 100 SEK each for their grand tour to the Alps.
On January 21, 1934, they left for St Anton. Rimfors and Bergman rapidly progressed in Hannes Schneider's ski school, also learning how to adapt Swedish equipment to alpine conditions. After one month with Hannes Schneider's best teacher, they went on to the 1934 FIS alpine championships (later recognized as the official World Championships). Representing Sweden Rimfors finishes also 37th place in slalom and 39th place in downhill.
After returning from the Alps in 1934, Rimfors began to propagate for alpine skiing according to the new Arlberg technique. Rimfors and Bergman's book about their adventures, På skidor I Alperna (On Skis in the Alps) became a blockbuster when it was released before Christmas 1934. The public interest grew rapidly for the new alpine sport, also as a form of recreational activity. On January 2, 1935, together with Ivar Holmquist, Gunnar Dyhlén, Folke Thörn and Helge Lindau, he formed Sweden's first slalom club, Skidfrämjandet's slalomklubb. Inspired by Hannes Schneider's system, Rimfors, together with Holmquist and Bergman, founded and organized Sweden's first ski school, Skidfrämjandet's ski school, in Storlien and Riksgränsen, opening during New Year 1934–35. That same winter, he launches the first Swedish alpine ski, Captain Rimfors' model, through L.A. Jonsson's ski factory in Östersund (the first industrial ski factory in the world).