Running on Air: Radio and the Experience of Drama in the Swedish ‘Gunder Hägg mania’ of 1941–45

During World War II, middle-distance runner Gunder Hägg set 15 world records and became a media sport star of unprecedented magnitude in Sweden. This article turns attention to the role of radio broadcasts in the formation of Swedish “Hägg mania” 1941–45. When analyzed in terms of blindness, liveness and co-presence, radio broadcasts from this era reveal that radio announcers actively engaged with audiences to solidify a sense of liveness and co-presence that established moments of suspense and ritualized drama. The concept of dimensional listening is used to explain how radio as a ‘blind’ medium could evoke forceful imagery, while the audiences’ use of stop-watches to time running events provides an example of how broadcasters encouraged audience interactivity, reinforcing the experience of simultaneity and national community.