Aurèle Vandendriessche
Vandendriessche in 1964
Personal information
Born(1932-07-04)4 July 1932
Anzegem, Belgium
Died17 October 2023(2023-10-17) (aged 91)
Waregem, Belgium
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventMarathon
ClubWaregem AC
Achievements and titles
Personal best2:17:44 (1965)[1][2]
Medal record
Representing  Belgium
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1962 BelgradeMarathon
Silver medal – second place1966 BudapestMarathon

Aurèle Vandendriessche (4 July 1932 – 17 October 2023) was a Belgian marathon runner, who won silver medals at the 1962 and 1966 European Championships. He competed at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Summer Olympics with the best result of seventh place in 1964.[1] Twice winner of the Boston Marathon (1963 and 1964), he recorded his best time there, 2:17:44 in 1965, while finishing fourth.[3]

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Abebe Bikila, followed barefoot at the rear of the lead pack, which was moving at a scorching pace and included Arthur Keily, Bakir Benaïssa, Rhadi Ben Abdesselam who was the reigning world cross-country champion, Bertie Messitt, the marathon world record holder Sergey Popov, and Vandendriessche.[4] Bikila won, setting a world record at 2:15:16.2. After they dispatched the rest of the field by 25 kilometers, Abdesselam stayed with Bikila until the final 500 meters, finishing second in 2:15:41.6. Vandendriessche abandoned the race. He placed seventh at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where Bikila won again with a new world record.[1]

Vandendriessche died in Waregem on 17 October 2023, at the age of 91.[5]

Abebe at the rear of the six-man lead pack near the 10-kilometre mark
The 1960 lead pack near the 10 km (6 mi) mark, Abebe (#11), following Messitt (#58), Benaïssa (white headband), Keily (#46) who faded to 25th, Vandendriessche (#36), and ben Abdesselam (#185).

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Belgium
1962 European Championships Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2nd Marathon 2:24:02.0
1963 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:18:58
1964 Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st Marathon 2:19:59
1965 Enschede Marathon Enschede, Netherlands 1st Marathon 2:21:16
Košice Peace Marathon Košice, Czechoslovakia 1st Marathon 2:23:47
1966 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd Marathon 2:21:43.6

References

  1. 1 2 3 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Aurèle Vandendriessche". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Auréle van den Driessche. trackfield.brinkster.net
  3. ↑ Boston Marathon History: 1961–1965 Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Boston Athletic Association. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. ↑ Maraniss, David (2008). Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416534075. OCLC 214066042. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Aurèle Vandendriessche". Vanhoutteghem Funerals. Retrieved 18 October 2023.


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