STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Lennart Strand, who won a silver medal for Sweden in the 1,500-meter race at the 1948 Olympics, died at 82.

Strand died Friday, the Sydsvenska Dagbladet newspaper said. Strand was a sports writer for the paper after his track career.

Strand finished second to countryman Henry Eriksson at the London Games in a final run during a downpour. A year later, he was ranked No. 1 in the world in the 1,500 by Track & Field News for the second time in three years.

In 1947, Strand matched fellow Swede Gunder Hagg's world record in the 1,500 with a time of 3 minutes, 43.0 seconds. He won the European title in the 1,500 in 1946, his breakthrough year.