Johan Edman was a member of the Swedish tug-of-war team that won the gold medal in the event at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. There were only two teams entered and Sweden won the title by defeating Great Britain in the only match. The Swedish squad was made up of seven police officers and Herbert Lindström, a fisherman. Edman was a police officer and competed for Stockholmspolisens Idrottsförening, the police sports club. He also competed on the Swedish team that won the 1913 world title. He was the oldest member of the 1912 Swedish tug-of-war gold medalists.