Rune Almén (born 20 October 1952 in

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...

) is a former

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who competed in the high jump. Almén became Swedish junior champion in high jump three years in a row between 1970 and 1972. He went on to become the leading Swedish high jumper in the late 1970s, as he became Swedish outdoor champion six years in a row between 1973 and 1978. He also won the Swedish Indoor Championships four times. During his career, Almén set two

Swedish records Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used ...

. His outdoor personal best was 2.23 meters, which he achieved in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

on 17 August 1974. His indoor personal best was 2.24 meters, a height which he cleared in

Skoghall Skoghall (literally means "Forest Hall") is a locality and the seat of Hammarö Municipality in Värmland County, Sweden with 13,265 inhabitants in 2010. Stora Enso with paper mill and manufacturing being the largest employer. Second largest is Ak ...

on 12 December 1976. On 3 May 1980 in Karlstad Almén managed to clear 1.90 meters in the standing high jump. This result is still considered an unofficial

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 ...

for the unusual event."What happened to the standing jumps"
''Track & Field News''. Retrieved on 2015-07-27.

National titles

* Swedish Athletics Championships **High jump: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 * Swedish Indoor Athletics Championships **High jump: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1980

International competitions

References

External links

* __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Almen, Rune Living people 1952 births Swedish male high jumpers People from Trollhättan Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Sweden Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County