"For Olympic feat, a legendary and ground-breaking career that put a golden edge on a classic Swedish parade event," reads the jury's justification.
Nils van deer Poel was in Malmö and gave an interview via link with a reporter on site.
- I know about what I did in a way that very few others do and have received my confirmation, says van der Poel.
The 5000 meter title was secured after a shocker in which van der Poel left runner-up Patrick Roest (different heats) with just 100 meters to go.
In the 10,000 meters it was a show and he bettered his own world record, winning the race by over 13 seconds.
Later in the season, he took Sweden's first all-round WC title (500-1500-5000-10000 m combined) in 49 years and after that he retired at only 25 years old - without completely closing the door on a future bid towards the 2026 Olympics .
- The interesting thing about van der Poel is that you don't know where the answers will go.
He is an odd bird, says SVT's commentator Jacob Hård, who had van der Poel as his favourite.
van der Poel has taken on a number of assignments outside of skating and is a frequently engaged lecturer.
The last time a skater received the Bragdguldet was Tomas Gustafson for his two Olympic golds, also in the 5000 and 10000 meters, at the Olympics in Calgary in 1988.