Gaston Roelants
 Gaston Roelants in 1968 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Born |
5 February 1937 Opvelp, Belgium |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Steeplechase, marathon |
| Club | DC Leuven |
| Retired | 1976 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
3000 m – 8:26.4 (1965) marathon – 2:16:30 (1974) |
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Gaston, Baron Roelants (born 5 February 1937) is a former elite steeplechaser and cross country runner. He won the 1962 European and 1964 Olympic titles in the 3000 m steeplechase and twice broke the world record.
Biography
Roelants finished fourth in the steeplechase at the 1960 Olympics, and after winning a bronze medal at the 1966 European Championships he successfully turned to longer distances, setting world records in the 20 km (58 minutes 6.2 seconds) and in the 1 hour race (20,664 m) that year. In 1972 he improved those records to 57 minutes 44.4 seconds and 20,878 meters. He won a silver (1969) and a bronze (1974) medal in European marathon races.[1][2] He was ranked the world's best steeplechaser five times, in 1962–1965 and 1967.[3]
Roelants also won four international cross country titles (1962, 1967, 1969 and 1972) with three second places between 1960 and 1975. His long career continued into his 40s. Later he won five world titles in the masters category and held the masters world record in the steeplechase for 27 years.[4]
A major Belgian road race is named after Roelants.[5][6]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gaston Roelants. |
- ↑ Gaston Roelants. Sports-reference.com. Retrieved on 12 January 2014.
- ↑ Gaston Roelant at the Wayback Machine (archived June 5, 2011). Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved on 12 January 2014.
- ↑ World Rankings By Nation — Men’s Steeple. Track and Field News
- ↑ Masterstrack Records analysis, 2003.
- ↑ Gaston Roelants race review. Sport.be. 20 December 2009.
- ↑ Sport. Brussels 10K Gaston Roelants. Brussels.be. Retrieved on 12 January 2014.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak |
Men's 3000 m steeplechase world record holder 7 September 1963 – 17 July 1968 |
Succeeded by Jouko Kuha |
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