Viktor Röthlin (born October 14, 1974 in Kerns,

Obwalden Canton of Obwalden or Obwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Sarnen. It is traditio ...

) is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

former

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 stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, who specialized in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a 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 ...

. Röthlin won the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2006 European Championships in

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, Sweden, the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the 2007 World Championships in

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, Japan, and the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the 2010 European Championships in

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, Spain. He also competed in the marathon at the 2000 Olympics in

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, Australia (finishing 36th), at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

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(where he did not finish), at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

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, China (where he placed 6th in a time of 2:10:35) and at the 2012 Olympics in London, Great Britain (where he finished in 11th with a time of 2:12:48). Röthlin has set four Swiss national records at the marathon distance: In September 2001 at the Berlin Marathon, his time of 2:10:54 eclipsed the previous Swiss national record of 2:11:10 (set by Daniel Boltz in 1991). In April 2004, in his victory at the Zürich Marathon, Röthlin lowered the national record to 2:09:56. In April 2007, he lowered the national record again, when he won the Zürich Marathon in a time of 2:08:20, and in February 2008, he once more improved the Swiss record to 2:07:23 when he won the Tokyo Marathon. Röthlin attempted no marathons in 2009, because he contracted

thrombosis Thrombosis () is the formation of a Thrombus, blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fib ...

during a flight from the

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in the Spring of 2009, which led to a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

and fluid buildup in his chest; the condition was treated with rest and medication. At the 2012 Tokyo Marathon he had his fastest performance since his victory in 2008, as he finished fifth with a time of 2:08:32 hours. Röthlin retired from competitive marathon running in 2014, after finishing fifth at the

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. Since retiring, Röthlin has been active in coaching, becoming the coach of Matthias Kyburz in 2024.

Achievements

*All results are for the marathon, unless stated otherwise

References

External links

*
Viktor Röthlin in European Athletics Championships
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothlin, Viktor 1974 births Living people Swiss male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Switzerland World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Tokyo Marathon male winners Sportspeople from Obwalden