Ronald Desruelles (14 February 1955 – 1 November 2015) was a Belgian track and field athlete who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Biography Desruelles was born in Antwerp and his brother Patrick Desruelles competed in the men's pole vault. Ronald started as a long jumper, and achieved a personal best of 8.08 in 1979, a national record that stood for 17 years. Additionally in 1979, he won the British AAA Championships title at the 1979 AAA Championships.
He then concentrated on the short sprints, and won numerous medals in 60 metres. With 6.57 seconds in 1986 he was ranked third on the indoor top performers list that season. He lost a gold medal at the 1980 European Indoor Championships because of a doping offense. Desruelles won the Belgian 100 metres championships seven times. He also won the 200 in 1985. In the 1986 European championships in Stuttgart he reached the 100 m semi-final.
Ronald was found dead in a hotel in Thailand on 1 November 2015, having committed suicide after the failure of his business.
Achievements Representing 1976Olympic GamesMontreal, Canada17th (q)Long jump7.60 m1978European Indoor ChampionshipsMilan, Italy 2ndLong jump7.75 m1980European Indoor ChampionshipsSindelfingen, GermanydisqualifiedLong jump8.08 m1984European Indoor ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden 3rd60 m6.691984Olympic GamesLos Angeles, United States17th (h)100 m10.461985World Indoor GamesParis, France 3rd60 m6.641985European Indoor ChampionshipsPiraeus, Greece 3rd60 m6.681986European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain 1st60 m6.611986European ChampionshipsStuttgart, Germany13th (sf)100 m10.431987World Indoor ChampionshipsIndianapolis, United States6th60 m6.671987World ChampionshipsRome, Italy30th (qf)100 m10.691988European Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary 2nd60 m6.60(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying round (q) qualifying heats (h) quarterfinals (qf) or semifinals (sf) Notes: Desruelles was the original winner of the long jump at the 1980 European Indoor Championship before being disqualified for a doping violation. Desruelles won his first round heat at the 1984 Olympics but withdrew from the second round.
References
External links
Ronald Desruelles' profile at Sports Reference.com