Gustaf Söderström was one of the three Swedes on the combined Danish / Swedish team that won the tug-of-war event at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Söderström also competed in athletics at the 1900 Olympics, in the shot put and discus throw, and he won the handicap discus throw event. He was a two-time Swedish champion in both the shot put and discus throw. His 1897 mark of 38.70 m in the discus surpassed the listed world record, but was not considered for record purposes, although the reasons are not clear. He was a member of Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, and was the brother of Bruno Söderström, who competed at the 1906 and 1908 Olympics in athletics, winning one silver and two bronze medals. Gustaf Söderström worked initially as an electrician and later as a mechanic at Norsborg’s waterworks.