Erik de Laval


Erik Patrik Honoré de Laval was a Swedish modern pentathlete who won a silver medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Lieutenant Erik de Laval served with the Svea Artillery Regiment in Stockholm. He competed at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics together with his elder brothers Georg and Patrik, who were also military officers. Erik was disqualified in the cross-country riding, while Georg won the bronze medal.
During World War II, de Laval was military attaché at the Swedish Embassy in Poland, and then in Washington. He later wrote books about the modern history of Poland and its leader Józef Piłsudski. In 1948 he served in Damascus as a member of the UN mission mediating the Arab-Israeli conflict.