Thomas Wessinghage

Thomas Wessinghage, born on 22 February 1952, is a German former middle- and long-distance runner who won the 5000 metres final at the 1982 European Championships, beating the British world-record holder David Moorcroft. He was already 30 and had been an international-level runner for a decade, and shortly before the Championships he had set a European record at 2000 metres. In 1980 he set a German record of 3:31.58 over 1500 metres that stood for 45 years, in the same race in which Steve Ovett of the United Kingdom set a world record. West Germany joined the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Olympics, which cost him a chance at a medal; he had been eliminated in the 1500-metre heats at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was injured in a race before the 1984 Olympics. He was married to the former Olympian Ellen Tittel.