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.[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

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1975 European Junior Championships Athens, Greece 1st 1500 m 3:44.8
1977 World Cross Country Championships Düsseldorf, West Germany 3rd Junior race 23:39
6th Junior team 98 pts
European Junior Championships Donetsk, Soviet Union 1st 1500 m 3:41.6
European Cup Helsinki, Finland 3rd 1500 m 3:45.90
1978 European Championships Prague, Czechoslovakia 9th (h) 1500 m 3:45.0
1980 World Cross Country Championships Paris, France 136th Senior race 40:15
1983 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th 3000 m 7:59.53
1985 World Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 66th Senior race 35:00
9th Team 439 pts
1986 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 14th (h) 1500 m 3:50.07
Nordic Indoor Championships Lidingö, Sweden 2nd 1500 m 3:46.07
1988 World Cross Country Championships Auckland, New Zealand 144th Senior race 38:40

National titles

Personal bests

References

  1. ↑ Ari Paunonen. Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  2. ↑ European Cup. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  3. ↑ Nordic Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  4. ↑ "European Junior Records - Men". EAA. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  5. ↑ IAAF World Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  6. ↑ European Junior Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  7. ↑ Finnish Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  8. ↑ Finnish Indoor Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  9. ↑ Juha Kanerva (August 2021). "Tapio Pekolan elämä päättyi avustettuun itsemurhaan". Ilta Sanomat. Urheilulehti. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
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