Thure Johansson was a Swedish long-distance

Long-distance track event

Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance is required more than anything else...

 runner who is credited by the International Association of Athletics Federations

International Association of Athletics Federations

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. It was founded in 1912 at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation...

 for setting a world's best of 2:40:34 in the marathon

Marathon

The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...

 on August 31, 1909. Johansson's record was reportedly set on a 368 meter indoor track at the Idrottsparken Velodrome Marathon in Stockholm, Sweden.

Competing against American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Jim Crowley

James Crowley (athlete)

James F. "Jim" Crowley was an American athlete, distance runner, and a member of the Irish American Athletic Club. In 1910, he was known as "King of the Marathoners" for having competed in and won more marathons than any of the athletes of his day....

 and Canadian Hans Holmer at the 69th Regiment Armory

69th Regiment Armory

The 69th Regiment Armory located at 68 Lexington Avenue between East 25th and 26th Streets in Manhattan, New York City is a historical building which began construction in 1904 and was completed in 1906. The building is still used to house the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment, as well as for the...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, The New York Times reported that Johansson broke Dorando Pietri

Dorando Pietri

Dorando Pietri, often wrongly spelt Petri was an Italian athlete famous for his dramatic finish and eventual disqualification in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London.-Early years:Pietri was born in Mandrio, a frazione of Correggio, but spent his youth in Carpi...

's indoor record for the marathon on March 1, 1910 (2:36:55.2).
As of May 2010, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians notes that Johansson's mark still stands as the sixth fastest time on an indoor track. The following month, Johansson soundly defeated Crowley in a match race

Match race

A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...

 at Celtic Park

Irish American Athletic Club

The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York at the beginning of the 20th Century.-Early years:...

 in New York City.

Johansson was trained and managed by Swedish-born Ernie Hjertberg, coach of the Irish American Athletic Club

Irish American Athletic Club

The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York at the beginning of the 20th Century.-Early years:...

 and a prior US track and field champion.