The man who won both in Košice and Boston – KOSICE – Marathon: Stories of Nine Decades 2018

Stories of Nine Decades – WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MARATHON IN KOSICE 70 YEARS AGO

In 1948 certain fears predominated that the Olympics in London would create problems with ensuring a quality starting field for the marathon in Košice in the autumn.

Luckily, that didn’t happen. Swede Gösta Leandersson came to Košice with the best resume. At home, in the town of Karlskoga on 5 September, he recorded a superb time of 2:31:12, which put him second in the world rankings. Thus, he came to Košice as the clear favourite, and this reputation proved to be well deserved on 28 October 1948. As early as the 15th kilometre in a competition of 97 runners from 13 countries he took a clear lead, and at the 25th and 30th km he even attacked the course record held by Olympic winner Juan Carlos Zabala of Argentina. He didn’t break it, but the nearly two-minute lead of Leandersson over the Norwegian John Systad at the finish was proof of his dominance.

Leandersson was also successful in other seasons. One year later he won the Boston Marathon and in 1950 he returned to Košice and recorded here another first place, this time in a new course record.

He also had repeated successes in the marathon at the European championships, finishing 5th in Oslo in 1946 and 4th in Brussels four years later.

RESULTS
Kosice Marathon
October 28, 1948

Men
1. Gösta Leandersson / Sweden / 2:34:46,4
2. John Systad / Norway / 2:36:43,0
3. Paavo Laine / Finland / 2:38:19,0

We’re happy if you find our brief glimpse into the past interesting.

 Brano Koniar – race Director