Gunnar Mikael Höckert (12 February 1910 – 11 February 1940) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

runner, winner of the 5000 m race at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Born 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 ...

to a wealthy family, Gunnar Höckert had only one great season, in 1936. The 5000 m final at the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Olympics started in a good pace. The tempo was dictated by American Donald Lash, but he was overtaken by three Finns after 2,000 m. Soon the race turned into a battle between Höckert and defending Olympic Champion and world record holder Lauri Lehtinen. In the last lap Höckert overran Lehtinen to win in a world's season best time of 14:22.2. In this same race Gunnar's teammate

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 ...

got third place over Kohei Murakoso, the Japanese runner who was leading the race at the beginning. Later on that season, on 16 September in Stockholm, Höckert ran a new

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 ...

in 3,000 m (8:14.8). A week later, on the same track, Höckert ran a new world record in 2 miles (8:57.4) and another week later, he equalled the

Jules Ladoumegue Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name * Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

's 2,000 m world record of 5:21.8 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 pop ...

. The rest of Höckert's athletics career was hampered by rheumatism, and he never again achieved the times he had run in 1936. He went to the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

as a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, progressing to 2nd lieutenant. He was killed during the Winter War on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

, just one day before his thirtieth birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hockert, Gunnar 1910 births 1940 deaths Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Athletes from Helsinki People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish male middle-distance runners Finnish male long-distance runners Finnish male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Finland World record setters in athletics (track and field) Finnish military personnel killed in World War II Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)