Harald Andersson
Harald Andersson in 1934
Personal information
Born(1907-04-02)2 April 1907
Stanford, California, United States
Died18 May 1985(1985-05-18) (aged 78)
Nynäshamn, Sweden
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight99 kg (218 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventDiscus throw
ClubIFK Falun
Achievements and titles
Personal best53.02 m (1935)[1][2]
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1934 TurinDiscus throw

Harald "Slaktarn" Andersson (2 April 1907 – 18 May 1985) was a Swedish discus thrower. In 1934 he won a European title[1] and held the world record for eight months. The same year he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.[3]

Career

Andersson was Swedish champion in every year from 1932 to 1935 and the world's best discus thrower in 1934 and 1935.[4][3] He broke Paul Jessup's world record of 51.73 m twice in one competition (a dual meet between the Swedish and Norwegian teams in Oslo) on 25 August 1934, throwing first 52.20 m and then 52.42 m;[5] the latter mark was officially ratified by the IAAF.[6] At the European Championships in Turin two weeks later Andersson threw 50.38 m and won by more than three meters from Paul Winter and István Donogán.[7]

Andersson lost his world record in April 1935, when Germany's Willy Schröder threw 53.10 m in Magdeburg;[6] however, he remained the world's top thrower, as Schröder was less consistent at a high level and suffered from health problems over the summer.[5] Andersson won both the Swedish and AAA Championships titles that year,[3] and on 13 October he improved his Swedish record to 53.02 m in Örebro.[5][8] He was a leading favorite for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but injured himself before the Games;[3] he attempted to throw in the qualification, but only managed about 38.5 metres and failed to qualify for the final.[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harald Andersson.
  1. 1 2 Harald Andersson. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ Harald Andersson. trackfield.brinkster.net
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Stora Grabbar" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Athletics at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Jukola, Martti (1935). Huippu-urheilun historia (in Finnish). Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
  6. 1 2 Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department (2013). IAAF Statistics Book Moscow 2013. International Association of Athletics Federations. p. 635.
  7. ↑ Jalava, Mirko (2014). "European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014: Statistics Handbook" (PDF). European Athletics. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. ↑ All-Time List As At 31 December 1945, Association of Track and Field Statisticians
  9. ↑ "Harald Andersson Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
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