Siegfried Herrmann (7 November 1932 – 14 February 2017) 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 ...

. Shortly before the 1956 Olympics his time in the 1500 m, was only 1.2 seconds behind the world record. However, he tore an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

at the Olympics and failed to reach the final. He later changed to longer distances and 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 ...

finished 11th in the 10,000 m event. In 1965 he set a world record in 3000 m. Next year he finished second in this event at the

1966 European Indoor Games The 1966 European Indoor Games were the first edition of what later became the European Athletics Indoor Championships. These games took place on 27 March 1966 at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, a city of West Germany. It was the only edition held on a s ...

. After retirement from competitions, between 1976 and 2000 he worked as athletics coach. Herrmann died on 14 February 2017, aged 84.

References

1932 births 2017 deaths German male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for the United Team of Germany East German male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Thuringia 20th-century German people 21st-century German people People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen East German Athletics Championships winners {{Germany-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub