Bertil Albertsson

Bertil Albertsson about 1950

Bertil Albertsson (actually Ebbe Gustav Bertil Andersson; born September 1, 1921 in Uppsala , † March 3, 2008 in Upplands Väsby ) was a Swedish long-distance runner who won the Olympic bronze medal in the 10,000 meter run in 1948 .

Albertsson won his first Swedish championship title in 1947 in the 5000 meter run , until 1954 a championship title for the Uppsala Idrottsförening followed every year, either over 5000 or over 10,000 meters. At the 1948 Olympic Games in London, eleven runners reached the 10,000 m finish . Behind the overwhelmingly victorious Emil Zátopek , all the other runners only fought for places. Silver won Alain Mimoun , who was six seconds ahead of Albertsson in 30: 53.6 minutes, five seconds behind the Norwegian Martin Stokken crossed the finish line in fourth. On the day after the final on the long distance, some finalists tried their hand at the 5000 m qualification , but only Zátopek, Albertsson and Stokken were able to qualify for the final. Two days later, on August 2nd, the 5000 m final took place, in which Stokken gave up. The winner Gaston Reiff before Zatopek. In 14: 39.0 minutes, Albertsson was fifth, twelve seconds behind third-placed Willem Slijkhuis .

Two years later at the European Athletics Championships in Brussels in 1950 , Albertsson competed in both finals in the long-distance track, but gave up over 10,000 m. Over 5000 m he was knocked off tenth. At the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 , Albertsson appeared again in both disciplines. He finished twelfth over 10,000 m in 30: 34.6 minutes and ninth over 5000 m in 14: 27.8 minutes.

Five times he was Swedish champion over 5000 m (1947, 1949, 1951-1953) and three times over 10,000 m (1948, 1950, 1954).

He set a national record over 10,000 m on September 26, 1948 in Södertälje with 30: 05.2 minutes, which he improved on October 14, 1951 to 29: 46.0 minutes. This mark was undercut the following year by Valter Nyström .

Albertsson was 1.77 m tall and weighed 67 kg during his playing days. In 1946 he changed his name from Bertil Andersson to Bertil Albertsson, his father's name was Albert Andersson.

Personal bests

• 5000 m: 14: 15.0 min, September 13, 1952, Stockholm
• 10,000 m: 29: 46.0 min, October 14, 1951, Uppsala

literature

• Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 2009. SportBooks Publ., Cheltenham 2009, ISBN 978-1-899807-78-9 (obituary page 100)

Web links

• Bertil Albertsson in the trackfield.brinkster.net database (English)
• Bertil Albertsson in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )