Ari Paunonen (born 10 March 1958) is a Finnish male former middle- and long-distance runner who competed over distances from 800 metres up to 10,000 metres. His best international performances at a major event were bronze at the 1977 European Cup and fifth at the 1983 European Athletics Indoor Championships.Ari Paunonen. Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.European Cup. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20. He was also the 1500 m silver medallist at the Nordic Indoor Athletics Championships in 1986.Nordic Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
His personal best time of 3:55.65 minutes for the mile run is a Finnish record. He also set a European under-20 record of 7:43.20 minutes for the 3000 metres in 1977. As a junior athlete he won back-to-back 1500 m titles at the European Athletics Junior Championships in 1975 and 1977, as well as a junior race bronze at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.IAAF World Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.European Junior Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20. At national level he won a middle-distance double at the Finnish Athletics Championships in 1977, won a second 1500 m title in 1979 and took three short course cross country titles between 1977 and 1980.Finnish Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20. He was also a four-time national indoor champion.Finnish Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
Born in Sulkava, he later became editor of Juoksija, a Finnish sports and fitness magazine. He married Alia Virkberg, also a former distance runner.
International competitions 1975European Junior ChampionshipsAthens, Greece1st1500 m3:44.81977World Cross Country ChampionshipsDüsseldorf, West Germany3rdJunior race23:396thJunior team98 ptsEuropean Junior ChampionshipsDonetsk, Soviet Union1st1500 m3:41.6European CupHelsinki, Finland3rd1500 m3:45.901978European ChampionshipsPrague, Czechoslovakia9th (h)1500 m3:45.01980World Cross Country ChampionshipsParis, France136thSenior race40:151983European Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary5th3000 m7:59.531985World Cross Country ChampionshipsLisbon, Portugal66thSenior race35:009thTeam439 pts1986European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain14th (h)1500 m3:50.07Nordic Indoor ChampionshipsLidingö, Sweden2nd1500 m3:46.071988World Cross Country ChampionshipsAuckland, New Zealand144thSenior race38:40
National titles Finnish Athletics Championships 800 metres: 1977 1500 metres: 1977, 1979 Cross country short course: 1977, 1979, 1980 Finnish Indoor Athletics Championships 1500 m: 1981 3000 m: 1978, 1983 5000 m: 1987
Personal bests 800 metres – 1:47.74 (1977) 1500 metres – 3:38.07 (1977) Mile run – 3:55.65 (1977) 3000 metres – 7:43.2 (1977) 5000 metres – 13:31.56 (1987) 10,000 metres – 28:25.16 (1987)
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