Doug Padilla

Doug Padilla
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1956-10-04) October 4, 1956 (age 68)
Oakland, California
Sport
SportTrack
Event(s)1500 meters, mile, 3000 meters, 5000 meters
College teamBYU
Achievements and titles
Highest world rankingNo. 1 for men's 3000m (1983)
Personal best(s)1500 meters: 3:37.95[1]
Mile: 3:54.2[1]
3000 meters: 7:35.84[1]
5000 meters: 13:15.44[1]

Douglas Padilla (born October 4, 1956 in Oakland, California) is a former middle and long distance runner from the United States, who won the overall Grand Prix 1985 and the World Cup 5000m race in 1985. He finished fifth in the 5000m final at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, and seventh in the 5000m final at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[2] In the 1983 World Championships 5,000-metre final, Padilla was among the favourites, but he succumbed to the radically accelerating pace of top runners, such as Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan, East Germany's Werner Schildhauer and Finland's Martti Vainio, during the last lap. He lost to the winner, Coghlan, by 3.55 seconds, but managed to defeat another unlucky favourite, West Germany's Thomas Wessinghage, by 0.38 seconds. By contrast, the fast 1984 Olympic 5,000-metre final was tough for Padilla already after 3,000 metres, and he painstakingly defeated New Zealand's John Walker who finished eighth.[3] He was ranked number 1 in the world in 1983 for the 3000-meter distance.

  1. ^ a b c d All-Athletics. "Profile of Doug Padilla". Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
  2. ^ See the race on YouTube
  3. ^ see, for example, "The World Athletics Championships 1983" / Yleisurheilun MM-kisat 1983, written by the "Runner" / Juoksija magazine's journalists and published in Finland in 1983; "The Big Olympic Book 4" / Suuri Olympiateos 4, published in Finland in 1984.