Bengt Sjöstedt

Bengt Olof Albert "Benkku" Sjöstedt (2 November 1906 – 16 July 1981)^[1] was a Finnish hurdler. He equalled the world record for 110 m hurdles in 1931 and competed in the Summer Olympic Games in 1928 and 1932.

Career

Sjöstedt was Finland's first international-level 110 m hurdler.^[2] He had a habit of toppling one or two hurdles in most races, which cost him several Finnish records; the rules at the time stated a time was invalid for record purposes if any hurdles were knocked down, although disqualification from the race itself wouldn't result unless three or more hurdles were knocked down.^[2]

In 1926 Sjöstedt placed a close second to Erik Wilén at the Finnish championships; later that year he beat Wilén in a time of 15.3, under Wilén's Finnish record of 15.5, but he knocked down hurdles and thus missed out on a new record.^[2] In 1927 he won his first national title and placed a close third behind two Swedes, Sten Pettersson and Carl-Axel Christiernsson, at the Finland-Sweden Athletics International; the Swedes were both Olympic finalists from 1924.^[2] Sjöstedt's time in that race was 15.0,^[3] but again the knock-down rule cost him the Finnish record.^[2]

Sjöstedt ran a wind-aided 14.9 at the Finnish tryouts for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and was accordingly selected.^[2] At the Olympics he ran 15.0 in his heat and 15.1 in his semi-final; he failed to qualify for the final.^[1] Later that year he ran 15.4 in Tampere without knocking down a hurdle, his first official Finnish record.^[2]

Sjöstedt stayed in consistent form in 1929 and 1930 before reaching his peak in 1931.^[2] He ran 14.6 without toppling hurdles twice that summer, but at the Finland-Sweden International he knocked down three hurdles and was disqualified, leaving the victory for Pettersson.^[2] He defeated Pettersson by more than three metres in a rematch at Helsinki on September 5, equalling the world record with his time of 14.4.^[2]

At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles Sjöstedt again failed to make the final, placing second in his heat with a time of 14.9 and fifth in his semi-final.^[1][3] He was no longer in his 1931 shape, lacked the consistency of the winning Americans and suffered from sciatica at the Olympics.^[2]

Sjöstedt stayed in good shape for several more years after Los Angeles, running 14.6 to defeat Germany's Erwin Wegner and Willi Welscher in a dual meet in 1935.^[2][3] His 1931 time of 14.4 remained the world record until 1934^[4] and the Finnish national record until 1967, when Matti Harri and Antti Lanamäki both ran 14.3.^[5] Sjöstedt is the only Finn to have held a world record in a hurdling event.^[5]

References