Cerpinski, Waldemar

Waldemar Zerpinski ^[1] ( German: Waldemar Cierpinski ; born August 3, 1950 ) - East German marathon runner , two-time Olympic champion (1976 and 1980), bronze medalist of the first world championship with a score of 2: 10.37 ^[2] . In 1976 and 1980 he was recognized as an ^[3] .

Waldemar Zerpinski
At a performance in Berlin, 1981
general information
Original name	Waldemar cierpinski
Date and place of birth	August 3, 1950 ( 1950-08-03 ) (69 years old) Neugattersleben , German Democratic Republic
Citizenship	East Germany → Germany
Height	170 cm
The weight	59 kg
IAAF
Personal records
Marathon	2: 09.55 (1976)
International medals
Athletics Olympic Games Gold Montreal 1976 Gold Moscow 1980 World Championships Bronze Helsinki 1983 marathon State awards

At the finish of the Moscow Olympics

Waldemar began his track and field career with hurdles . He joined the marathon in 1974 .

At the 1976 Olympics, he set a new Olympic record in the marathon at 2: 09.55. This result will be a national record for 9 years ^[4] . In 1980, he won the second gold medal at the Olympics, winning the marathon distance with a score of 2: 11.03. I could not participate in the 1984 Olympic marathon because of a boycott. Together with the legendary Ababa Bikila from Ethiopia, he is the owner of a unique achievement - the winner of the Olympic marathon in two Games in a row.

Cerpinski admitted that his main starts are Olympic. Journalists believe that, perhaps, Tserpinski masterfully managed to gain maximum shape precisely on the day of the Olympic start. Indeed, in between the Olympics, the athlete performed relatively little and never rose above 12th place in the world time sheet. And the third place in Fukuoka in 1976 can be considered the best result in commercial marathons ^[5] .

At the 1976 Olympic marathon, Waldemar was a dark horse, representing the GDR alone. During the Montreal race, the current Olympic champion and favorite American Frank Shorter did not know anything about him and took Carlos Lopez for the Portuguese. By mistake, an extra lap ran at the Tserpinski stadium, at the finish he was already waiting for the upset Shorter. In the late 1990s, Shorter will insist on a review of the results based on archived data on the total use of steroids in the Olympic team of the GDR. However, in 1998, the President of the IOC Samaranch will refuse on the grounds that it has long become a history that no one will revise ^[6] .

He lives in Galle , where he has opened his own sports shop since 1990.