Arne Andersson (27 October 1917 – 1 April 2009) was a
Swedish middle distance runner who became famous for his rivalry with his compatriot
in the 1940s. Andersson set a
1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...
world record in
Gothenburg in August 1943 with a time of 3:45.0 minutes. He was born 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 l ...
,
Sweden.
Andersson set three world records in the mile: the first in
Stockholm in July 1942 in (4:06.2); this record was broken in the same year by Hägg (4:04.6). Andersson recaptured the world record in Gothenburg in July 1943 (4:02.6), and improved it further in Malmö in July 1944 (4:01.6). However, Hägg had the last word when he ran (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 popula ...
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 Un ...
in 1954). Andersson won the
Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal
The Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal ( sv, Svenska Dagbladets guldmedalj, but usually simply called ''Bragdguldet'', "The Feat Gold") is an annual award "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". It has been awarded by a jury le ...
in 1943.
[
Andersson won seven national titles: two individual (1500 m, 1943–44) and five in relays (1940–42).][ In 1946 he was disqualified for violating amateur rules, together with 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 ...
.[
]
References
1917 births
2009 deaths
People from Trollhättan Municipality
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Swedish male middle-distance runners
Örgryte IS Friidrott athletes
Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County
{{Sweden-athletics-bio-stub