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
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
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 8.08 m
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
  1. "World Top Performers 1980-2006: Men (Indoor)". www.gbrathletics.com.
  2. http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1980/m80_09.html
  3. Ronald Desruelles' obituary Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  4. "Ronald Desruelles". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 January 2021.



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