Wilhelm "Willi" Wülbeck (born 18 December 1954) is a retired German middle-distance runner. Competing in the 800 m he finished fourth 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 ...

. He missed the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

due to the West German boycott and could not participate in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

because of an injury. He also finished eighth at the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and 1982 European Championships. His greatest success came as he won the gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Wülbeck ran a time of 1:43.65 which remains the German record. 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 ...

his personal best time was 3:33.74 minutes, achieved in August 1980 in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

. This result places him seventh on the German all-time performers list. Wülbeck won ten consecutive West German championships over 800 m (1974–1983), an unprecedented achievement.West German championships, men's 800 metres
sport-komplett.de He received multiple national awards, including the Silver Bay Leaf in 1980, the

Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award The Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award (german: Rudolf-Harbig-Gedächtnispreis) is an annual sports award in recognition of Germany, German competitors in the sport of athletics who, in performance and attitude, have been role models for young people. The ...

in 1984, and the Sports Badge of North Rhine Westphalia in 1983. In 2002 he was an ambassador for the unsuccessful German 2012 Olympic bid. Wülbeck studied biology and sports and after retiring from competitions become a sports teacher. He later worked as a public relation consultant for a sporting goods enterprise and as a freelance sports journalist. He also founded a sports school and a public relations agency in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

. From 1992 to 2006 he headed the athletics department at ASV Duisburg.

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* * * 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Oberhausen West German male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of West Germany World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners {{West Germany-athletics-bio-stub