 Vandendriessche in 1964 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1932-07-04)4 July 1932 Anzegem, Belgium | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 17 October 2023(2023-10-17) (aged 91) Waregem, Belgium | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Marathon | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Waregem AC | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personalbest | 2:17:44 (1965)[1][2] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Aurèle Vandendriessche (4 July 1932 – 17 October 2023) was a Belgian marathon runner, who won silver medals at the 1962 and 1966 European Championships. He competed at the1956, 1960, and 1964 Summer Olympics with the best result of seventh place in1964.[1] Twice winner of theBoston Marathon (1963 and 1964), he recorded his best time there, 2:17:44 in 1965, while finishing fourth.[3]
At the1960 Summer Olympics inRome,Abebe Bikila, followed barefoot at the rear of the lead pack, which was moving at a scorching pace and includedArthur Keily,Bakir Benaïssa,Rhadi Ben Abdesselam who was the reigning world cross-country champion,Bertie Messitt, the marathon world record holderSergey Popov, and Vandendriessche.[4] Bikila won, setting a world record at 2:15:16.2. After they dispatched the rest of the field by 25 kilometers, Abdesselam stayed with Bikila until the final 500 meters, finishing second in 2:15:41.6. Vandendriessche abandoned the race. He placed seventh at the1964 Summer Olympics inTokyo, where Bikila won again with a new world record.[1]
Vandendriessche died inWaregem on 17 October 2023, at the age of 91.[5]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Belgium | |||||
| 1962 | European Championships | Belgrade,Yugoslavia | 2nd | Marathon | 2:24:02.0 |
| 1963 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:18:58 |
| 1964 | Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:19:59 |
| 1965 | Enschede Marathon | Enschede, Netherlands | 1st | Marathon | 2:21:16 |
| Košice Peace Marathon | Košice,Czechoslovakia | 1st | Marathon | 2:23:47 | |
| 1966 | European Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | Marathon | 2:21:43.6 |
Media related toAurèle Vandendriessche at Wikimedia Commons
