Tom Compernolle (13 November 1975 – 16 June 2008) was a Belgian

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, who specialized in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

. He was born in Bruges. Compernolle finished thirteenth at the 2002 European Championships and tenth at the 2006 European Championships. He also competed with less success at the 2001 World Championships, the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

as well as three editions of the World Cross Country Championships. He also competed in Belgium's domestic cross country series, the

Lotto Cross Cup The Lotto Cross Cup is an annual series of international cross country running competitions in Belgium. The inaugural season was in 1982–1983. The series comprises Belgium's foremost cross country competitions, including the IAAF permit meeting in ...

, and won the series in the 1999–2000 season. He died on 16 June 2008Sad death of Belgian runner Tom Compernollie (sic)
- European Athletics Association, 18 June 2008 after an army

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

, on which Compernolle was a passenger, crashed in

Aartrijke Zedelgem (; vls, Zillegem) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Aartrijke, Loppem, Veldegem and Zedelgem proper. On January 1, 2019, Zedelgem had a total population of 22, ...

, Belgium.

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

- 3:40.50 min (2005) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived trac ...

- 4:06.21 min (2002) *

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

- 7:50.32 min (2002) *

- 13:14.75 min (2004) *

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

- 29:15.96 min (2006)

References

* 1975 births 2008 deaths Belgian male long-distance runners Belgian male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Belgium Road incident deaths in Belgium Sportspeople from Bruges 20th-century Belgian people {{Belgium-athletics-bio-stub