Thomas Wessinghage
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Thomas Wessinghage (born 22 February 1952 in
In 1980 he set a German record of 3:31.58 min over 1500 metres which still has not been broken. In the same race Steve Ovett from the UK set a world record of 3:31.36 min. He was married to former Olympian Ellen Tittel. Wessinghage missed a great chance of winning an Olympic medal that year because West Germany joined the United States-led boycott. He was unlucky also in the other Olympic years of his competitive career: he was eliminated in the 1,500-metre heats in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, and he got injured in a race before the 1984 Olympics (see Hannus, "The Thousand Stars of Athletics"; "The Big Olympic Book" / Suuri Olympiakirja, written and published by the "Runner" / Juoksija magazine's journalists and published in Finland in 1984).
In the 1983 inaugural World Athletics Championships, he was among the favourites to win the 5,000-metre title, but for some reason he could not accelerate enough when it mattered the most - during the final lap - despite running at a steady rhythm earlier in the race. Accordingly, he dropped from third to sixth during the last lap, and lost to the winner, Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan, by almost four seconds (see, for example, "World Athletics Championships 1983" / Yleisurheilun MM-kisat 1983, written by the "Runner" / Juoksija magazine's journalists and published in Finland in 1983).
His last major competitive race was in the 5,000-metre qualifying heats of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart,
West Germany. In that race, he failed to advance to the final (see, for example, "The Great European Championships Book" / Suuri EM-kirja, published in Finland in 1990).
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing West Germany | |||||
1972 | European Indoor Championships | Grenoble, France
|
1st | 4 × 720 m relay | 6:26.4 |
Olympic Games | Munich, West Germany
|
21st (sf) | 1,500 m | 3:43.4 | |
1973 | European Indoor Championships | Rotterdam, Netherlands
|
1st | 4 × 720 m relay | 6:21.58 |
Universiade | Moscow, Soviet Union
|
3rd (h) | 1,500 m | 3:44.61 | |
1974 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden
|
2nd | 1,500 m | 3:42.02 |
European Championships | Rome, Italy
|
3rd | 1,500 m | 3:41.1 | |
1975 | European Indoor Championships | Katowice, Poland
|
1st | 1,500 m | 3:44.6 |
Universiade | Rome, Italy
|
1st | 1,500 m | 3:39.73 | |
1976 | European Indoor Championships | Munich, West Germany | 2nd | 1,500 m | 3:45.3 |
1977 | World Cup | Düsseldorf, West Germany | 2nd | 1,500 m | 3:35.98 |
1978 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy
|
2nd | 1,500 m | 3:38.23 |
European Championships | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 4th | 1,500 m | 3:37.19 | |
1979 | European Indoor Championships | Vienna, Austria
|
2nd | 1,500 m | 3:42.2 |
World Cup | Montreal, Canada
|
1st | 1,500 m | 3:46.002 | |
1980 | European Indoor Championships | Sindelfingen, West Germany | 1st | 1,500 m | 3:37.54 |
1981 | European Indoor Championships | Grenoble, France
|
1st | 1,500 m | 3:42.64 |
1982 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy
|
4th | 1,500 m | 3:39.79 |
European Championships | Athens, Greece
|
1st | 5,000 m | 13:28.90 | |
1983 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary
|
1st | 1,500 m | 3:39.82 |
World Championships | Helsinki, Finland
|
6th | 5,000 m | 13:32.46 | |
1984 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden
|
3rd | 1,500 m | 3:41.75 |
1985 | European Indoor Championships | Piraeus, Greece
|
2nd | 3,000 m | 8:10.88 |
1986 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain
|
5th | 3,000 m | 8:00.76 |
European Championships | Stuttgart, West Germany
|
17th (h) | 5,000 m | 13:33.98 |
1Did not finish in the final
2Representing Europe
External links
- Thomas Wessinghage at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)