Vebjørn Rodal

Vebjorn Rodal, 2010

Vebjørn Rodal (born September 16, 1972 in Rennebu ) is a former Norwegian middle-distance runner who became Olympic champion in 1996 on his special route, the 800-meter run .

Career

Rodal made his first major international appearance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona , but was eliminated in the semifinals. He won his first international medal two years later at the European Championships in Helsinki when he won the silver medal behind the Italian Andrea Benvenuti . At the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg he won the bronze medal.

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta , he benefited from the absence of Wilson Kipketer , who had recently emigrated from Kenya to Denmark , but was not allowed to start the Olympic Games from his home country. Rodal took his chance and won the gold medal in the Olympic record time of 1: 42.58 min, ahead of the South African Hezekiél Sepeng and the Kenyan Frederick Onyancha , with the first four runners all coming under a time of 1:43 min. He was then voted Norway's Sportsman of the Year , won the Morgenbladet Foundation gold medal and the Fearnleys olympiske ærespris . With his winning time in Atlanta, Rodal is still on rank 15 of the all-time world best list (as of August 2015).

At the 1997 World Championships in Athens , he was fifth, at the 1999 World Championships in Seville , he was eliminated in the preliminary stages. Rodal also started at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney , but was eliminated in eighth place in the semifinals.

Vebjørn Rodal is 1.88 m tall and weighed 78 kg at competition times.

Web links

• Vebjørn Rodal in the database of World Athletics (English)