Ronald Desruelles
Ronald Desruelles (14 February 1955 – 1 November 2015) was a Belgian athlete. He started as a long jumper, and achieved a personal best of 8.08 in 1979, a national record that stood for 17 years. He then concentrated on the short sprints, and won numerous medals in 60 metres. With 6.57 seconds in 1986 he was ranked third on the indoor top performers list that season.[1] He lost a gold medal at the 1980 European Indoor Championships, however, because of a doping offense.[2] Desruelles won the Belgian 100 metres championships 7 times. He also won the 200 in 1985. In the 1986 European championships in Stuttgart he reached the 100 m semi-final.
Desruelles was born in Antwerp. His brother Patrick Desruelles competed in the men's pole vault. Ronald was found dead in a hotel in Thailand on 1 November 2015, having committed suicide after the failure of his business.[3][4]
Achievements
[edit]Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Belgium | |||||
1976 | Olympic Games | Montreal, Canada | 17th (q) | Long jump | 7.60 m |
1978 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy | 2nd | Long jump | 7.75 m |
1980 | European Indoor Championships | Sindelfingen, Germany | disqualified | Long jump | |
1984 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 3rd | 60 m | 6.69 |
1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 17th (h) | 100 m | 10.46 |
1985 | World Indoor Games | Paris, France | 3rd | 60 m | 6.64 |
1985 | European Indoor Championships | Piraeus, Greece | 3rd | 60 m | 6.68 |
1986 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 1st | 60 m | 6.61 |
1986 | European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 13th (sf) | 100 m | 10.43 |
1987 | World Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, United States | 6th | 60 m | 6.67 |
1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 30th (qf) | 100 m | 10.69 |
1988 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 60 m | 6.60 |
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying round (q) qualifying heats (h) quarterfinals (qf) or semifinals (sf) |
Notes:
- Desruelles was the original winner of the long jump at the 1980 European Indoor Championship before being disqualified for a doping violation.
- Desruelles won his first round heat at the 1984 Olympics but withdrew from the second round.
References
[edit]- ^ "World Top Performers 1980-2006: Men (Indoor)". www.gbrathletics.com.
- ^ http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1980/m80_09.html
- ^ Ronald Desruelles' obituary Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- ^ "Ronald Desruelles". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
External links
[edit]
- 1955 births
- 2015 suicides
- 2015 deaths
- Belgian male sprinters
- Belgian male long jumpers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes for Belgium
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Belgium
- World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
- Sportspeople from Antwerp
- Doping cases in athletics
- Belgian sportspeople in doping cases
- Suicides by hanging in Thailand
- Belgian Athletics Championships winners
- Sportspeople who died by suicide
- 20th-century Belgian sportsmen
- Belgian athletics biography stubs