Karl-Axel Kullerstrand

Placed eighth in the 1912 Olympic high jump final, Karl-Axel Kullerstrand was the only Swede to qualify. In fact, 12 Swedish jumpers were pre-selected with five starting. A year earlier, he became national champion at 19-years-old, and repeated in 1916 and 1917, twice later finishing second. In June 1917 Kullerstrand broke the national record with 1.89, which placed him second on the year’s world list. The major part of Kullerstrand´s track career occurred during World War I, and inter-national competitions were very rare. Mostly he traded wins with his Swedish peers, and managed to win the event in a few of the more important local meets.

In 1911 an English team met a Swedish one in Stockholm, and Kullerstrand emerged as the winner, which would have been a nice victory, if the guests had sent a high jumper. Instead, his biggest win was probably a victory over US star, Jo Loomis, at a late-season 1916 contest in Stockholm. Kullerstrand was selected for the 1914 Baltic Games, where he finished second to fellow Swede, I. Reimers. Kullerstrand continued to compete for a few years after 1917 but did not sparkle, partly because of a back problem.

Personal Best: HJ – 1.89 (1917).