Henry Eriksson

Henry Eriksson ( Knut Henry Eriksson ; born January 23, 1920 in Krylbo , today part of the city of Avesta ; † January 8, 2000 in Gävle ) was a Swedish middle-distance runner and Olympic champion .

Throughout his sporting career, his greatest opponent was his compatriot Lennart Strand . Eriksson made his first international appearance at the European Athletics Championships in Oslo in 1946 , where he finished the 1,500 meter run behind Strand in second place. On July 15, 1947, at the national Swedish championships in Malmö , Eriksson and Strand had a very close race over 1500 m, which Strand won by setting the world record of 3: 43.0 minutes. Eriksson was second with a time of 3: 44.4 minutes, which was also his personal best over this distance.

At the 1948 Olympic Games in London, the three Swedes Eriksson, Strand and Gösta Bergkvist started as clear favorites. However, they did not have the best conditions. The race itself started in heavy rain and a slippery track. After a kilometer, Eriksson and Strand picked up the pace and pulled away from the rest of the field. When turning into the home straight, Strand tried to get past Eriksson, but couldn't. Eriksson finished the race with a lead of 0.6 seconds in a time of 3: 49.8 minutes and got the gold medal. Silver went to the beach and bronze went to Willem Slijkhuis from the Netherlands .

Eriksson was one of the three igniters of the Olympic flame at the 1956 Olympic Equestrian Games in Stockholm.

Web links

• Henry Eriksson in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )