Patrik Sjöberg returned to Stockholm on the day 35 years after his world record of 2.42.
As one of the first to be selected on the plaza’s newly opened Walk of Fame.
A plaque on the sidewalk will forever remind you of the historic evening.
– Yes, people now have something to spit on, he says, half jokingly, and half seriously.
Patrick Seeberg Himself and for the elegant audience who just honored him, this was probably not what most people expected.
There are people who want to spit on me and now they have nowhere to go, Patrick tells Sportbladet.
– But for me personally, I feel good. I feel proud. Here it fits well considering the association with both the world record and the pitch.
– This was my land when I was active. I think I competed more in Stockholm than I did in Slotskogsvalen in Gothenburg.
It’s now 35 years since that world record came on June 30, 1987, and Patrick Sjoberg will be in the stands during Thursday’s Bauhaus gala.
Yes, I was 22 at the time and you are being reminded of your age, says Patrick, who turned 57 in January.
– Yeah, there’s really no age, but I don’t feel like being 57. Maybe some days, but the wings after illness are still there. I get tired quickly if I go out and about and don’t have the strength as before. And I’m still on sick leave, so I don’t do much.
– The doctors said I would get better in about a year, but it didn’t go that way anyway, despite my declaration that I was free from the disease.
Last spring, Patrick ended up in the hospital with bilateral pneumonia and a life-threatening form of septicemia.
– I was only hours away from death when I came in and ended up on a ventilator for a little over two weeks. It had its price. It’s doing something in my head and I still find it hard to tell the difference between dream and reality sometimes. You get some form of brain damage, when you sleep for a long time and it is less mild the younger you are.
But today he is the same, except that he sometimes has to sit up and finds it difficult to get up after the unveiling of the new painting.
They drank the whipped cream
The weight of the bout anyway goes back to 112 kg after the weight race during the illness.
– Yes, I lost 23 kilos and for a while I poured whipped cream in an attempt to get up again. But the disease gave me a different perspective on things. In the past, staying healthy was a cliché. Now it looks lively.
But even if the body is not the same as before, the tongue is still sharp.
Patrick has always gone his own way and has never evaded unpleasant facts.
Are you still against the world?
No, it wasn’t, and it never was. Perhaps it was more than necessary. Either you’re Carolina Klovet and you have that picture, or you can choose the path that you feel works best for you.
Today, the Swedish high jump is a far cry from what it used to be.
Melwin Lycke Holm remains the biggest hope for the future, even though his remarkable development was halted when he was a teenager.
– I think that’s what I’ve been saying all along. Only when you reach old age can you talk about where you are internationally and where you are going in the future. But Stefan had a very peculiar profession and did not stand out at a younger age. Maybe that’s what he’s talking about his son.
The memorial plaques outside Stockholm Stadium is an initiative of the Central Swedish Association for the Promotion of Sport, with former general DN gal Rajne Söderberg as president.
Some of those honored alongside Patrick are Anders Gerrod and Gunder Hagg.