Lennart Beach

Lennart Strand (born June 13, 1921 in Malmö ; † January 23, 2004 ibid) was a Swedish middle-distance runner .

In 1944 he set the pace for his compatriots Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson in their world records in the 1,500 meter and mile run . In Gunder Hägg's last world record in 1945 over a mile, Strand came fourth. Before the start of the 1946 season, Hägg and Andersson were suspended for violating amateur regulations.

While the athletes from other European nations were able to start training again after the Second World War, although some of them still had to struggle with the food shortage , the Swedes were well trained. And especially in the middle distance, the wonder runner Hägg and his eternal rival Andersson also set new standards in training. It is therefore not surprising that the next generation of Swedish middle-distance athletes dominated the scene after 1946, above all Strand and his long-term rival Henry Eriksson .

The first international championships since 1938 were the European Championships in Oslo in 1946 . Strand was European champion in 3: 48.0 minutes ahead of Eriksson and the Dane Erik Jørgensen .

On July 15, 1947, Lennart Strand was able to set Gunder Hägg's world record from 1944 with 3: 43.0 min. Eriksson was second in this race in Malmö in 3: 44.4 min.

At the 1948 Olympic Games in London , the three Swedes Eriksson, Strand and Gösta Bergkvist started as clear favorites. In pouring rain and a slippery track, Eriksson immediately took the lead and set the pace. Surprisingly, Strand couldn't catch up with Eriksson at the end, who won in 3: 49.8 minutes. Strand was just second in 3: 50.4 minutes ahead of Willem Slijkhuis from the Netherlands . Bergqvist finished fifth.

Strand was also in second place in the world's best list of the year in 1949 and 1950, but at the European Championships in 1950 he gave up in the final, and the victory went to Slijkhuis.

Lennart Strand was 1.73 m tall and weighed 61 kg during his active time. He died in January 2004 of the consequences of a traffic accident that happened to him in November 2003.

Web links

• Lennart Strand in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )