Karl Gunnar Alfred Karlsson-Tjörnebo, Gunnar Tjörnebo for short (23 March 1927 – 15 March 2009) was a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 long-distance runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase.

He was born in Tjörnarp

Tjörnarp

Tjörnarp is a locality situated in Höör Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 742 inhabitants in 2005....

, and belonged to the sports clubs IFK Växjö and IFK Helsingborg. He competed at the Olympic Games three times, with a twelfth place in 1952

1952 Summer Olympics

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Helsinki, Finland in 1952. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were cancelled due to World War II...

, a fifth place in 1960

1960 Summer Olympics

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

 and a failure to reach the final round in 1956

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...

. At home, he won six national championships between 1951 and 1961, and set four Swedish records in his main event. His personal best time was 8:41.2 minutes, achieved in 1961.

He died in March 2009, shortly before his 82nd birthday.