| Nationality: | Swedish |
| Headercolor: | lightsteelblue |
| Birth Place: | Degerfors, Sweden |
| Fullname: | Sven Anders Gärderud |
| Height: | 1.86m (06.1feet) |
| Weight: | 700NaN0 |
| Country: | Sweden |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | 800–5000 m |
| Club: | KA2 IF, Karlskrona; Enebybergs IF; Mälarhöjdens IK, Stockholm |
| Pb: | 800 m – 1:47.2 (1968) 1500 m – 3:36.73 (1974) 5000 m – 13:17.59 (1976) 3000 mS – 8:08.02 (1976) 5000 m – 13:17.59 (1976) |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Sven Anders Gärderud (born 28 August 1946) is a Swedish former track and field athlete, winner of the 3000 m steeplechase event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Gärderud was born to an orienteering competitor, and was an accomplished orienteer himself, winning a team gold medal at the 1977 Swedish Championships. He initially trained in orienteering and changed sports by chance – he was banned from running in the woods in autumn 1961 due to a jaundice epidemic and wandered into an athletic hall.
Gärderud experimented with several events before focusing on the 3000 m steeplechase. His first major competition were the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the heats of 800 m and 1500 m. In the following years, Gärderud concentrated on the steeplechase, and was already a main favorite at the 1972 Summer Olympics, but, suffering from a cold, he was eliminated in his heat. Gärderud was also eliminated in the heats of the 5000 m at the Olympics, but only seven days later, he set a new 3000 m steeplechase world record at 8:20.8.
At the 1974 European Championships in Rome, Gärderud was beaten by Bronisław Malinowski of Poland,[1] yet next year he broke the 3000 m steeplechase world record three times.[2]
The culmination of Gärderud's career was at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where after a stirring contest with Malinowski and Frank Baumgartl, Gärderud won the gold medal in a new world record of 8:08.02. His victory in that event would earn him a share of the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal with cyclist Bernt Johansson.
After retiring from competitions Gärderud worked as a TV commentator of athletics events and as the head coach of the Swedish athletics team. In 1986 he married Annika Johansson.
| Representing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | European Indoor Games | Dortmund, West Germany | 6th | 3000 m | 8:12.8 | |
| 1968 | Olympic Games | Mexico City, Mexico | 24th (h) | 800 m | 1:48.9 | |
| 35th (h) | 1500 m | 3:54.28 | ||||
| 1972 | Olympic Games | Munich, West Germany | 17th (h) | 5000 m | 13:57.2 | |
| 19th (h) | 3000 m s'chase | 8:30.8 | ||||
| 1974 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 3000 m s'chase | 8:15.41 |
| 1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 3000 m s'chase | 8:08.02 (WR) |