Josef Schmid (born 15 February 1953, in Altshausen) is a retired West German middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres.
He won a gold medal in 4 x 720 metres relay at the 1973 European Indoor Championships with teammates Reinhold Soyka, Thomas Wessinghage und Paul-Heinz Wellmann and the silver medal in 800 m at the 1976 European Indoor Championships. He also competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1974 European Championships without reaching the final. [1]
He competed for the sports clubs LG Saulgau and Salamander Kornwestheim during his active career.
Wilson Kosgei Kipketer is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David Rudisha. Kipketer set the world record and broke his own record two more times, all in 1997. He dominated the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time fastest times. He won gold medals in three successive editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Though unable to compete in the 1996 Olympics near the peak of his career, he earned silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004. Kipketer's 800 meters world record stood for almost 13 years. It was surpassed on 22 August 2010, when David Rudisha beat it by 0.02 seconds, running 1:41.09. Kipketer still currently holds the indoor world record for the 800 metres.
Rashid Ramzi is a Moroccan-Bahraini track and field athlete competing internationally for Bahrain in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Ramzi was investigated by the IAAF after the 2008 Summer Olympics and was stripped of his gold medal for doping.
Brigitte Heike Meissner is a retired German athlete. She competed mainly in the 400 metres hurdles, but also spent two seasons specializing in the 800 metres. Notable achievements include a silver medal at the 2002 European Championships, medals in 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1994 European Championships and the 1997 World Indoor Championships and a fourth place at the 1995 World Championships.
Marc Raquil is a French runner of Martiniquais origin who competes in the 400 metres and 4x400m relay. He won the 4x400m relay gold medal and the 400m silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. In 2004, his 4x400m relay team was retroactively awarded gold medals after the United States 4x400m relay team was stripped of its gold medals due to the failed drug tests of two members of the relay. Since Jerome Young had also finished first in the 400m at the 2003 World Championships, the failed drug test also resulted in Raquil being retroactively awarded a silver medal in the 400m. Raquil has also won three gold medals and one bronze medal at the European Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Natalya "Natasha" Stanislavovna Dukhnova is a retired Belarusian middle distance runner who mainly competed in the 800 metres.
Nikolina Pavlova Shtereva is a retired Bulgarian middle-distance runner who specialised in the 800 and 1500 metres. She is best known for her silver medal in 800 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and at the European Indoor Championships she won gold medals in 1976 and 1979 and a bronze medal in 1981. She won fourteen national titles in Bulgaria, and is still the Bulgarian record holder in the 800 metres.
Doina Ofelia Melinte is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed at four Olympics (1980–92), and won a gold medal in the 800 metres and a silver medal in the 1,500 metres in 1984. She won the world indoor title in 1987 and 1989 and the European indoor title in 1985, 1988 and 1990 in the 1,500 m. Her world indoor mile record of 4:17.41 in 1990, stood for 26 years.
Ulrike Bruns is a retired East German athlete who competed mainly in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres.
Martin Weppler is a retired West German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.
Aiga Grabuste is a Latvian track and field athlete competing in heptathlon. She represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won bronze medal at the 2012 European Athletics Championships, finishing just 10 points behind fellow Latvian Laura Ikauniece.
Robert Cameron Sharp is a Scottish former sprinter. In 1978, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton in the 4 × 100 m relay alongside David Jenkins, Allan Wells, and Drew McMaster. He went on to compete in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games picking up three bronze medals, in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4x100 metres relay.
Reinhold Soyka is a retired West German middle distance runner, who specialized in the 800 metres.
Totka Nikolaeva Petrova is a retired female middle distance runner who represented Bulgaria in the 1970s and the early 1980s. She specialized in the 800 and 1500 metres, and won numerous international medals. She is still the Bulgarian 1500 metres record holder.
Rositsa Pekhlivanova is a retired Bulgarian middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres.
Svetla Stefanova Zlateva is a retired Bulgarian sprinter and middle-distance runner who specialized in the 400 and 800 metres. She is a former world record holder in the latter event. In 1973, she was the winner of the first Balkan Athlete of the Year award.
Lilyana Tomova-Todorova, born 9 August 1946) is a retired Bulgarian sprinter and middle-distance runner who specialized in the 400, 800 and 1500 metres.
Manuel Olmedo Villar is a Spanish middle-distance runner. He specialises in the 800 metres. He represented Spain at the Olympic Games at both the 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also ran at the World Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2007 and 2009.
Henryk Jan Szordykowski was a Polish runner who specialized in the 800 metres and 1500 metres.
Dmitriy Anatolyevich Bogdanov is a Russian middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 metres. His personal best times are 1:44.33 minutes in the 800 metres and 46.50 seconds in the 400 metres.
Rosemary Olivia Wright is a former British sprinter and middle-distance runner. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1969 European Championships, and a gold medal in the 800m at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Her 800m best of 2:00.15, stood as the Scottish record for 30 years (1972-2002).