Anders Gärderud

Sven Anders Gärderud (born 28 August 1946) is a Swedish former track and field athlete, winner of the 3000 m steeplechase event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[1][3][4]

Anders Gärderud

Gärderud in 1968
Personal information
Full name	Sven Anders Gärderud
Nationality	Swedish
Born	28 August 1946 (1946-08-28) (age 73) Degerfors, Sweden
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Country	Sweden
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	800–5000 m
Club	KA2 IF, Karlskrona; Enebybergs IF; Mälarhöjdens IK, Stockholm
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m – 1:47.2 (1968) 1500 m – 3:36.73 (1974) 5000 m – 13:17.59 (1976) 3000 mS – 8:08.02 (1976) 5000 m – 13:17.59 (1976)[1][2]
Medal record Representing  Sweden Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 3000 m steeplechase European Championships 1974 Rome 3000 m steeplechase

Gärderud was born to an orienteering competitor, and was an accomplished orienteer himself, winning a team gold medal at the 1977 Swedish Championships. He initially trained in orienteering and changed sports by chance – he was banned from running in the woods in autumn 1961 due to a jaundice epidemic and wandered into an athletic hall.[3]

Gärderud experimented with several events before focusing on the 3000 m steeplechase.[1] His first major competition were the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the heats of 800 m and 1500 m. In the following years, Gärderud concentrated on the steeplechase, and was already a main favorite at the 1972 Summer Olympics, but, suffering from a cold, he was eliminated in his heat. Gärderud was also eliminated in the heats of the 5000 m at the Olympics,[1] but only seven days later, he set a new 3000 m steeplechase world record at 8:20.8.[2]

At the 1974 European Championships in Rome, Gärderud was beaten by Bronisław Malinowski of Poland,[5] yet next year he broke the 3000 m steeplechase world record three times.[2][6]

The culmination of Gärderud's career was at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where after a stirring contest with Malinowski and Frank Baumgartl, Gärderud won the gold medal in a new world record of 8:08.02.[1] His victory in that event would earn him a share of the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal with cyclist Bernt Johansson.

After retiring from competitions Gärderud worked as a TV commentator of athletics events and as the head coach of the Swedish athletics team.[1][3][4] In 1986 he married Annika Johansson.[7]

References

1. Anders Gärderud. sports-reference.com
2. Anders Gärderud. trackfield.brinkster.net
3. Anders Gärderud. Swedish Olympic Committee.
4. Anders Gärderud. storagrabbar.se
5. European Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 13 January 2015.
6. "12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook. Berlin 2009" (PDF). Monte Carlo: IAAF Media & Public Relations Department. 2009. pp. Pages 546, 554. Archived from the original (pdf) on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
7. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993. Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 411. ISBN 91-1-914072-X

Records
Preceded by Kerry O'Brien	Men's 3000 m steeplechase world record holder 14 September 1972 – 15 January 1973	Succeeded by Ben Jipcho
Preceded by Ben Jipcho	Men's 3000 m steeplechase world record holder 25 June 1975 – 13 May 1978	Succeeded by Henry Rono
Preceded by Vladimir Dudin Bronisław Malinowski (co-holders)	Men's 3000 m steeplechase European record holder 14 September 1972 – 24 August 1984 shared with Michael Karst 26 June 1974 – 2 July 1974	Succeeded by Joseph Mahmoud
Preceded by Dan Waern	Men's 800 m Swedish record holder 11 September 1968 – 4 July 1974 shared with Åke Svensson from 13 July 1973	Succeeded by Åke Svensson
Preceded by Bengt Nåjde	Men's 5000 m Swedish record holder 26 July 1972 – 25 July 1973	Succeeded by Bengt Nåjde
Preceded by Bengt Nåjde	Men's 5000 m Swedish record holder 7 August 1973 –	Succeeded by Current holder
Preceded by Bengt Persson	Men's 3000 m steeplechase Swedish record holder 13 August 1971 – 28 July 2007	Succeeded by Mustafa Mohamed
Awards
Preceded by Ingemar Stenmark	Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal with Bernt Johansson 1976	Succeeded by Frank Andersson
Sporting positions
Preceded by Kerry O'Brien	Men's 3000 m steeplechase best year performance 1972	Succeeded by Ben Jipcho
Preceded by Ben Jipcho	Men's 3000 m steeplechase best year performance 1974–1976	Succeeded by Michael Karst