Andreas Almgren

Andreas Almgren swaps cleats for spikes

As a teenager, Andreas Almgren mostly dribbled on the pitches of Sollentuna ⚽, north of Stockholm. The ball went into the closet once the stopwatch got involved: the Swede chose the 800 m, two laps of the track run breathlessly from the starting gun to the line 🏃.

The gamble paid off quickly. In 2014, he won bronze at the World Junior Championships in Eugene in 1:45.65, with a Swedish junior record to boot ⏱️. Nobody imagined then that this runner would one day run through the five New York boroughs.

Launch halted: two injuries

The road to the longer distances goes through the infirmary. In 2016, a stress fracture in his foot kept him out of the Games 🩹. In 2021, a torn meniscus stopped him again. The 800 m runner then decided to change distance.

He moved up to longer races, trained with two threshold sessions in the same day and ran nearly 200 km per week. In 2022, he broke the Swedish 5,000 m record, held since 1976 by Anders Gärderud. National records followed in the 1,500 m, the 10,000 m (26:52.87 in 2024) and the half marathon.

Big Apple, big finish 🍎

On January 12, 2025, at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, he became the first European under 27 minutes over 10 km, clocking 26:53 snatched in a sprint 🔥. A few months later, he set the European 5,000 m record (12:44.27) in front of his home crowd in Stockholm, before taking world bronze over 10,000 m in Tokyo.

The Swede took the hit and struck back harder the following summer. In August, he claimed European 10,000 m gold in Birmingham in 27:23.44, a championship record 🏆 . In September, in Copenhagen, he became the first European half marathon world champion in thirty years, in 58:06, a new European record 🇪🇺.

The big leap remained. On November 1, 2026, for his very first marathon, Andreas Almgren waited patiently in a pack of fifteen men at the 35th km, then attacked 800 m from the finish in Central Park 🗽. The verdict: 2:06:01, 13 seconds ahead of Yeman Crippa, and the title of first Swede to win a World Marathon Majors event.

Just one marathon under his belt, already a major trophy: his next start line over 42.195 km deserves a cross in your calendar 🎯. Until then, follow Andreas Almgren's track record and go chase your own bib.