Francisco Aritmendi, Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetFrancisco Aritmendi
Spanish male long-distance runner
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Málaga del Fresno, Castile-La Mancha, Spain
About Francisco Aritmendi
- Francisco Aritmendi Criado (born 17 or 19 September 1938) is a Spanish former long-distance runner who competed mainly in cross country running competitions.
- He was the gold medallist at the 1964 International Cross Country Championships.
- He was a six-time competitor at the competition and also shared in a team silver in 1962.
- However, his failure to finish at the 1963 race drew great criticism as Spain missed the team title as a result. Aritmendi also competed on the track and represented Spain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 metres.
- He was the Spanish record holder in that event, having become the first Spaniard under fourteen minutes with his best of 13:53.4 minutes.
- He was a three-time national champion: twice in cross country and once in the 10,000 metres.
- He ran during the amateur era of athletics and ultimately sold his historic International Cross Country gold medal due to poverty.
- His achievements were recognised nationally in 2007 when he was given the bronze Royal Order of Sports Merit.
Read more at Wikipedia