 Willy Polleunis in 1973 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian | |||||||||||
| Born | 27 December 1947 Hasselt, Belgium | |||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Country | Belgium | |||||||||||
| Sport | Long-distance running | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Willy Polleunis (born 27 December 1947) is a Belgian former long-distance runner who won the silver medal in the 3000 metres at the 1973 European Indoor Championships, behind his clubmate Emiel Puttemans.[1] He competed in the 5000 and 10000 metres events at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics with the best achievement of sixth place in the 5000 metres in 1976.[2] At the start of the final lap, he was in tenth place, but he accelerated, and possibly ran the final lap even faster than the winner, Lasse Viren.[3] Polleunis also won team gold medals at the 1973 and 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and a team silver in 1976.
