Jirka Arndt (1 August 1973 – February 2024) was a German

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who specialized in the 5000 and

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. Arndt finished 6th at the 1991 European Junior Championships, 8th at the 1996 European Cup Super League, 51st at the 2000 World Cross Country Championships and 4th at the 2000 European Cup Super League. He then finished 8th in the men's 5000 meters at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Progressing with a time of 13:26.18 minutes from the qualifiers, he ran in 13:38.57 minutes in the final. At the 1998 German championships he won the bronze medals in both 5000 and 10,000 metres, and in 2000 he took a national silver medal in the 5000 metres. At the German indoor championships, he won two bronze and one silver medal in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

. He represented the clubs LG Potsdam and

SCC Berlin SCC Berlin is a German sports club based in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin and founded in 1902 as ''Charlottenburger Sport-Club 1902''. In 1911, they merged with ''Sport-Club Westen 05'' and changed their club colors from yellow and blue ...

. His national 5000 metres bronze in 2000 was later upgraded to

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. The original winner was

Dieter Baumann Dieter Baumann (, ; born 9 February 1965) is a former German athlete and winner of the 5000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also won the silver medal in the same event (5000 m) at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1999 Baumann tested positive for na ...

, who had previously tested positive for

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrolon ...

. While Baumann fought the outcome, the German Athletics Federation allowed him to start at the German championships. However, the IAAF reached the verdict that Baumann was guilty of doping and imposed a ban. His personal best times were 13:21.47 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in June 2000 in

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; and 28:22.17 minutes in the 10,000 metres, achieved in April 2000 in

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. He later switched to

marathon race The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

s and ran his best race at the 2003

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

; in 2:16.28 hours. Arndt died in February 2024, at the age of 50.Flash-News am Samstag

References

1973 births 2024 deaths People from Wolgast Athletes from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania German male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Germany German male marathon runners {{Germany-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub