Ronald Desruelles

Ronald Desruelles (14 February 1955 – 1 November 2015) was a Belgian track and field athlete who competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Biography Desruelles was born in Antwerp and his brother Patrick Desruelles competed in the men's pole vault. Ronald started as a long jumper, and achieved a personal best of 8.08 in 1979, a national record that stood for 17 years. Additionally in 1979, he won the British AAA Championships title at the 1979 AAA Championships.

He then concentrated on the short sprints, and won numerous medals in 60 metres. With 6.57 seconds in 1986 he was ranked third on the indoor top performers list that season. He lost a gold medal at the 1980 European Indoor Championships because of a doping offense. Desruelles won the Belgian 100 metres championships seven times. He also won the 200 in 1985. In the 1986 European championships in Stuttgart he reached the 100 m semi-final.

Ronald was found dead in a hotel in Thailand on 1 November 2015, having committed suicide after the failure of his business.

Achievements Notes: Desruelles was the original winner of the long jump at the 1980 European Indoor Championship before being disqualified for a doping violation. Desruelles won his first round heat at the 1984 Olympics but withdrew from the second round.