Alexis Ahlgren

Alexis Ahlgren was a Swedish long-distance runner who had a lot of success in his home country before competing in the United States. In May 1913 Ahlgren won the Polytechnic Marathon in London in a world record time of 2-36:06.6, which stood as a world record until August 1920, and as a Swedish record until 1948. He ran the Polytechnic Marathon again in 1914 but did not finish. In 1911 he ran the Boston Marathon for the only known time, and led Clarence DeMar to a fast early pace, but Ahlgren eventually faded and finished outside of the top 10. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics Ahlgren competed in the marathon but did not finish with the race, which became famous infamous due to the very hot conditions.

Ahlgren immigrated to the United States in August 1922, becoming a naturalised citizen in July 1926. He lived his life in Pittsburgh until his death in 1969 from Doriden poisoning, a barbiturate used to treat insomnia.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-36:06.6 (1913).