Gunder Hägg (31 December 1918 – 27 November 2004)[2][3] was a Swedish runner and multiple world record breaker of the 1940s.

Hägg first set the record in July 1942 at 4:06.2, a time which was equalled by Andersson later the same month.

Hägg's record was not broken until Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4 mile in Oxford in May 1954.

[3] Hägg was also the first man to run a sub-14 minute 5,000 metres, a feat he achieved in September 1942.

The next world record for the men's 5,000 metres to stand for this long was set in May 2004 by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.