Josy Barthel

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Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Gold 1952 Helsinki 1500 metres

Joseph ("Josy") Barthel (April 24, 1927 – July 7, 1992) was a Luxembourgian athlete. He was the surprise winner of the Men's 1500 metres at the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the only athlete from Luxembourg to have won a gold medal at the Olympics.[1] Besides athletics, Barthel also led successful careers in both chemistry and politics.

Born in Mamer, Josy Barthel's abilities as a middle-distance runner was discovered during the World War II. His first fame came by winning the 800 m at the Military World Championships in Berlin in 1947. The next year at Military World Championships in Brussels he won both 800 m and 1500 m.

At the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Barthel finished ninth at the 1500 m final. Then he won Student World Championships in 1949 (1500 m) and 1951 (800 m and 1500 m). The absolute high point of Barthel's career was the 1952 Summer Olympics, where he surprised the crowd and himself by winning the 1500 m by a very strong finish. He also participated at the 1956 Summer Olympics, after which he retired from running. He was also Luxembourg champion in 800 m and 1500 m from 1946 to 1956.

In 1962 Barthel became the president of Luxembourg Athletics Federation, then from 1973 to 1977 he was the president of the Luxembourgian Olympic and Sporting Committee. He was also member of the Luxembourg government.

Josy Barthel died in Luxembourg City after severe illness.

The national stadium of Luxembourg, home to the Luxembourg national football team, was named Stade Josy Barthel in his honor. The Lycée Technique Josy Barthel in Mamer also bears his name.

In 2006, Barthel was accused of doping by the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.[2]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Luxembourger Michel Théato won the marathon in 1900, but the IOC officially credits him as having represented France, despite later research proving his nationality.
  2. ^ (German) Eggers, Erik. "Mit der Kraft der Panzerschokolade", Der Tagesspiegel, 26 November 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
Political offices
Preceded by
Marcel Mart		 Minister for Energy
1977 – 1984		 Succeeded by
Marcel Schlechter
Preceded by
Émile Krieps		 Minister for the Environment
1977 – 1984		 Succeeded by
Robert Krieps
Preceded by
Marcel Mart		 Minister for Transport
1977 – 1984		 Succeeded by
Marcel Schlechter
Sporting positions
Preceded by
François Mersch		 President of the FLA
1962 – 1972		 Succeeded by
Norbert Haupert
Preceded by
Prosper Link		 President of the COSL
1973 – 1977		 Succeeded by
Gérard Rasquin
v • d • e
Olympic Champions in the Men's 1500 metres
1896: Teddy Flack • 1900: Charles Bennett • 1904: Jim Lightbody • 1906: Jim Lightbody • 1908: Mel Sheppard • 1912: Arnold Jackson • 1920: Albert Hill • 1924: Paavo Nurmi • 1928: Harry Larva • 1932: Luigi Beccali • 1936: Jack Lovelock • 1948: Henry Eriksson • 1952: Josy Barthel • 1956: Ron Delany • 1960: Herb Elliott • 1964: Peter Snell • 1968: Kip Keino • 1972: Pekka Vasala • 1976: John Walker • 1980: Sebastian Coe • 1984: Sebastian Coe • 1988: Peter Rono • 1992: Fermín Cacho • 1996: Noureddine Morceli • 2000: Noah Ngeny • 2004: Hicham El Guerrouj
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