Ari PaunonenAri 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.[1][2] He was also the 1500 m silver medallist at the Nordic Indoor Athletics Championships in 1986.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7] He was also a four-time national indoor champion.[8] Born in Sulkava, he later became editor of Juoksija, a Finnish sports and fitness magazine.[9] He married Alia Virkberg, also a former distance runner. International competitions
National titles
Personal bests
References
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