Harald Andersson

Harald Andersson

Harald Andersson in 1934
Personal information
Born	(1907-04-02)2 April 1907 Stanford, California, United States
Died	18 May 1985(1985-05-18) (aged 78) Nynäshamn, Sweden
Height	191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight	99 kg (218 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Discus throw
Club	IFK Falun
Achievements and titles
Personal best	53.02 m (1935)[1][2]
Medal record Representing  Sweden European Championships 1934 Turin Discus 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

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