Gunder Hägg (31 December 1918 – 27 November 2004)Gunder Hägg passes away
IAAF (28 November 2004). Retrieved 6 October 2022. was a Swedish

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

and multiple

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

breaker of the 1940s. He set over a dozen middle distance world records at events ranging from

1500 Year 1500 (Roman numerals, MD) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The year 1500 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The year was seen as being especially important by many Christians in Europe, ...

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

, including three at both the 1500 meters and the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

, one at

3000 meters The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

and one at

. Hägg and fellow Swede,

Arne Andersson Arne Andersson (27 October 1917 – 1 April 2009) was a Swedish middle distance runner who became famous for his rivalry with his compatriot Gunder Hägg in the 1940s. Anderson set a 1500 metres world record in Gothenburg in August 1943 with a ...

, lowered the record for the mile to just over four minutes (4:01.4) – accelerating the progression of the world record in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

. Both athletes set three world records for the mile. Hägg first set the record in July 1942 at 4:06.2, a time which was equalled by Andersson later the same month. This record was broken by Hägg (4:04.6) in September the same year. Andersson recaptured the world record in July 1943 (4:02.6), and improved it further in July 1944 (4:01.6). However, Hägg then managed a time of 4:01.4 in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

in 1945. (Hägg's record was not broken until

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

ran the first sub-4 mile in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1954.) Hägg was also the first man to run a sub-14 minute 5000 m. In 1946, Gunder Hägg was branded a professional because he received payments for running. He was therefore barred from competition, together with Arne Andersson and

Henry Jonsson John Henry Jonsson (12 May 1912 – 9 March 2001) was a Swedish runner who won a bronze medal over 5000 m at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He finished second at the 1938 European Championships. In 1940 he changed his name to Henry Kälarne, and wa ...

.Henry Jonsson
Swedish Olympic Committee Retrieved 6 October 2022. Four years earlier, he earned the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagg, Gunder 1918 births 2004 deaths People from Bräcke Municipality World record setters in athletics (track and field) Swedish male middle-distance runners Swedish male steeplechase runners Sportspeople from Jämtland County