Paul-Heinz Wellmann (born 31 March 1952, in

Haiger Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger. Geography Location Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern ...

) is a former

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 ...

middle-distance runner who specialized in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. As a teenager he won the silver medal at the 1970 European Junior Championships. He then finished seventh at the 1971 European Championships, the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and the 1974 European Championships. He then won the gold medal at the 1976 European Indoor Championships, the bronze medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

and the silver medal at the 1977 European Indoor Championships At the European Indoor Championships he had previously won three medals in relay races: a bronze medal in 4 × 800 m in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, and gold medals in 4 x 720 m in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. In domestic competitions, Wellmann represented the sports clubs TV 1885 Haiger and later TuS 04 Leverkusen. He became West German 800 metres champion in 1973 and 1500 metres champion in 1973, 1974 and 1976.West German championships, men's 800 metres
- Sport-Komplett He had a rivalry with

Thomas Wessinghage Thomas Wessinghage (born 22 February 1952 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German former middle- and long-distance runner who won the 1982 European Championships' final over 5000 metres beating the British world-record holder David Moorcro ...

. Wellmann was trained by Gerd Osenberg, and after retiring he has trained

Sonja Oberem Sonja Oberem, née Krolik (born 24 February 1973 in Rheydt) is a German athlete, who specialized in the marathon races. In her younger days she was a successful triathlete. Achievements Personal bests *Half Marathon A half marathon is a road ...

and others. He was married to fellow distance runner Ellen Tittel for a period, who then took the surname Wellmann. They later divorced, but Ellen later married Thomas Wessinghage and took the name Ellen Wessinghage

References

1952 births Living people West German male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for West Germany Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany German athletics coaches Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub