Sven Israelsson won the bronze medal in the Nordic combined event at the Olympics in St. Moritz in 1948, and placed 16th in the 18 km cross-country skiing. At the 1950 World Championships in Lake Placid, Israelsson was fifth in the Nordic combined and 25th in the 18 km run. Besides winning the Olympic medal, his best year was 1947, when he became the first foreigner to win the Nordic combined event at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, additionally winning at the Lahti Games and the Swedish Ski Games. He also won the event at the Swedish Ski Games in 1948 and 1950. His first success was winning the national championship in Nordic combined in 1944, repeating this feat another four times, in 1946-48 and 1950. He won two more Swedish team championships in 1947 and 1957 with his club mates from Däla-Jarna’s IK.