Arne Andersson

Arne Andersson (left), just behind Gunder Hägg as he sets a new world record for the mile at 4:06.2 in Gothenburg on July 1, 1942.

Arne Andersson (27 October 1917, Trollhättan – 1 April 2009) was a Swedish middle distance runner who became famous for his rivalry with his compatriot Gunder Hägg in the 1940s. Andersson set a 1500 metres world record in Gothenburg in August 1943 with a time of 3:45.0 min. He was born in Trollhättan, Sweden.

Andersson set three world records for 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 in 1945 (Hägg's record was not broken until Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4 Mile in Oxford in 1954). Andersson won the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal in 1943.^[1]

References

Records
Preceded by Gunder Hägg	Men's 1500 m World Record Holder August 17, 1943 – July 7, 1944	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Gunder Hägg	Men's Mile World Record Holder July 10, 1942 – September 4, 1942	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Gunder Hägg	Men's Mile World Record Holder July 1, 1943 – July 17, 1945	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Gunder Hägg	Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal 1943	Succeeded by Nils Karlsson
Preceded by Gunder Hägg	European Record Holder Men's 1500 m August 17, 1943 – July 16, 1944	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg

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