Eric Verner Wennström (10 March 1909 – 8 October 1990) was a Swedish

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He held the 110 m hurdles world record from 1929 to 1934 and competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Career

Wennström became an elite hurdler at a young age, challenging Sweden's established top hurdler

Sten Pettersson Sten Karl Leopold "Sten-Pelle" Pettersson (11 September 1902 – 1 June 1984) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed in sprint and hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the ea ...

and winning his first national title in 1927 as an 18-year-old. He represented Sweden at the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and nearly qualified for the final, placing third in his semi-final. Wennström reached his peak in 1929, consistently running under 15 seconds and winning another Swedish national title; finally on 25 August, in a dual meet against Norway at

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, he broke the world record with his time of 14.4. Although a number of other athletes, starting with

Earl Thomson Earl John "Tommy" Thomson (February 15, 1895 – May 19, 1971) was a Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high hurdles. In 1920 he became the first Olympic gold medalist in 110 m hurdles from outside the United States. Biography Born in Birch ...

in 1920, had run the slightly shorter 120 yd (109.7 m) hurdles in 14.4, Wennström was the first to do so over the metric distance. There were some doubts about the validity of Wennström's mark, with

wind assistance In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport. Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the at ...

and unreliable clocks cited as possible factors in it, but the

International Amateur Athletic Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

, responsible for officially ratifying world records, found no problems with the time and accepted it. Wennström lost his best shape after the 1929 season and never regained it, although he did become Swedish champion for a third and final time in 1931.

References

1909 births 1990 deaths Athletes from Stockholm Swedish male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Sweden World record setters in athletics (track and field) {{Sweden-athletics-bio-stub