José_Luis_González_(runner)
José Luis González (runner)
Spanish middle-distance runner
José Luis González Sánchez (born 8 December 1957 in Villaluenga de la Sagra, Toledo) is a Spanish former middle-distance runner. He represented Spain at the Olympics on three occasions (1980, 1984, 1992) with his best performance being a semi-final run in the 1500 m in 1980.[1]
Gonzalez won a 1500 m silver medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics behind Abdi Bile, and also won IAAF World Indoor Championships silver medals in 1985 and 1989.[2][3] He appeared six times at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, starting with a junior silver medal in 1975.[4] He competed at the European Athletics Championships in 1986 and 1990, and was a six-time champion at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.[5] Among his other international honours are a silver medal at the 1983 Mediterranean Games,[6] and wins at the 1987 European Cup and 1983 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics.[7][8] He was a seven-time Spanish national champion, winning four 1500 m titles and a 5000 m crown at the Spanish Athletics Championships, plus two victories at the Spanish Cross Country Championships.[9]
He was one of the world's fastest 1500 metres runners of the 1980s – in a race in Nice in 1985, Gonzalez came third behind Steve Cram and Saïd Aouita, who became the first man to run the distance below 3:30 minutes. Gonzalez set a Spanish record of 3:30.92 minutes and a few weeks later also ran a national record in the mile run with 3:47.79 minutes. He was chosen at the Spanish sportsman of the year in 1986.[10]
He received the silver medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1994 from the Consejo Superior de Deportes.[11]
