Bernd Dießner (born 16 March 1946 in

Aken Aken may refer to: *Aken (god), in Ancient Egyptian religion *Aken (Elbe), a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany *Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Lis ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

) is a retired

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

long-distance runner who specialized in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

. He won the silver medal at the 1968 European Indoor Games (in 3000 metres), the bronze medal at the 1966 European Championships, finished fourth at the 1969 European Championships, and fourteenth at the 1971 European Championships. He also competed at the 1968 Olympic Games. Dießner represented the sports clubs

Vorwärts Berlin 1. Fußballclub Frankfurt (Oder) E. V. e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Frankfurt, is a German football club based in Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg. The club was founded as the army club SV VP Vorwärts Leipzig in Leipzig in East Germany in 1951. ...

and

ASK Vorwärts Potsdam Ask is the active verb for a direct question. Ask may also refer to: Places * Ask, Akershus, a village in Gjerdrum municipality, Akershus county, Norway * Ask, Buskerud, a village in Ringerike municipality, Buskerud county, Norway * Ask, Vestla ...

and became East German champion in 1968 and 1971. His most prominent personal best times were 7:49.4 in the 3000 metres, achieved in June 1970 in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, and 13:31.2 in the 5000 metres, achieved in June 1972 in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

.World men's all-time best 5000m (last updated 2001)
/ref> He also had 3:39.8 in the 1500 metres, achieved in May 1969 in Potsdam, and 28:24.6 in the 10,000 metres, achieved in April 1972 in Potsdam. After retiring he has worked as a coach in the sports club LAC Erdgas Chemnitz, for André Pollmächer among others. He has also coached

Ulrike Bruns Ulrike Bruns ( Klapezynski, born 17 November 1953) is a retired East German athlete who competed mainly in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres. Private life Klapezynski was born in 1953 in Cottbus. She married her trainer, Jürgen Bruns (1 ...

(for a very brief period of time),

Jens-Peter Herold Jens-Peter Herold (born 2 June 1965 in Neuruppin) is a retired German middle-distance runner who participated in several international championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, 1987 World Ch ...

Jürgen Straub Jürgen Straub (born November 3, 1953, in Weitersroda) is a former East German middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. Straub's greatest race won him a silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics over 1500 metres represen ...

and

Olaf Beyer Olaf Beyer (born 4 August 1957 in Grimma) is a former East German 800 metres runner. Biography He won the gold medal at the 1978 European Championships in Prague. In that race he beat the future world-record holder Sebastian Coe and the future ...

References

1946 births Living people People from Aken (Elbe) East German male long-distance runners German athletics coaches Athletes from Saxony-Anhalt Olympic athletes for East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists East German Athletics Championships winners {{East Germany-athletics-bio-stub