Harald Norpoth (born 22 August 1942) is a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

former middle and long distance runner. He won the silver medal over 5000 m at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

in Tokyo as a member of the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...

.Harald Norpoth
sports-reference.com He had already competed in the 1962 European Athletics Championships, where he had fallen and dropped out of the 1500 m final. His high quality as both a 1500 m and a 5000 m runner was proved in the 1966 European Athletics Championships, where he won the bronze medal at 1500 m and the silver medal at 5000 m. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico Norpoth dropped out of the 5000 m and finished fourth over 1500 m. He also set a 2000 m world record of 4:57.8 minutes in September 1966 in Hagen, Germany. Norpoth remained an international-level 5000 m runner until his retirement from competitive running in 1973, as he finished third in the 1971 European Championships 5000 m final, losing by 1.2 seconds to the winner,

Juha Väätäinen Juha Väätäinen (born 12 July 1941) is a Finnish former athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships, held in Helsinki. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners, the ot ...

. At the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, he finished sixth at 5000 m, losing by 6.2 seconds to the winner,

Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paa ...

, and placing as the fourth best European. In his farewell run at 5000 m in 1973, he set a personal record at 13:20.49. Norpoth was known as a sharp kicker, although he also could endure a fast pace when he was in peak shape.Wünsche "The Great European Championships Book"; Antero Raevuori, ed., "Lasse Viren: The Gilded Spikes" / Lasse Viren: Kullatut piikkarit, published in Finland in 1976; Matti Hannus, "The Thousand Stars of Athletics" / Yleisurheilun tuhat tähteä, published in Finland in 1983 He is a first cousin of political scientist

Helmut Norpoth Helmut Norpoth (born 1943) is an American political scientist and professor of political science at Stony Brook University. Norpoth is best known for developing the Primary Model to predict US presidential elections. Education and career Norpoth ...

References

1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Münster German male middle-distance runners German male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of the United Team of Germany Olympic athletes of West Germany Olympic silver medalists for the United Team of Germany European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub