Harald Andersson

Harald "Slaktarn" Andersson was a Swedish discus thrower. In 1934 he won a European title and held the Men's [discus throw world record progression|world record] for eight months. The same year he was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal.

Biography

Andersson was Swedish champion in every year from 1932 to 1935 and the world's best discus thrower in 1934 and 1935. He broke Paul Jessup's world record of 51.73 m twice in one competition on 25 August 1934, throwing first 52.20 m and then 52.42 m; the latter mark was officially ratified by the IAAF. 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.
Andersson lost his world record in April 1935, when Germany's Willy Schröder threw 53.10 m in Magdeburg; 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. Andersson won both the Swedish and British AAA Championships titles that year, the latter at the 1935 AAA Championships. On 13 October he improved his Swedish record to 53.02 m in Örebro.
He was a leading favorite for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but injured himself before the Games; he attempted to throw in the qualification, but only managed about 38.5 metres and failed to qualify for the final.