# José Luis González (runner)

José Luis González Sánchez (born 8 December 1957 in Villaluenga de la Sagra, Toledo) is a Spanish former middle-distance runner. He represented Spain at the Olympics on three occasions (1980, 1984, 1992) with his best performance being a semi-final run in the 1500 m in 1980.
Gonzalez won a 1500 m silver medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics behind Abdi Bile, and also won IAAF World Indoor Championships silver medals in 1985 and 1989. He appeared six times at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, starting with a junior silver medal in 1975. He competed at the European Athletics Championships in 1986 and 1990, and was a six-time champion at the European Athletics Indoor Championships. Among his other international honours are a silver medal at the 1983 Mediterranean Games, and wins at the 1987 European Cup and 1983 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics. He was a seven-time Spanish national champion, winning four 1500 m titles and a 5000 m crown at the Spanish Athletics Championships, plus two victories at the Spanish Cross Country Championships.
He was one of the world's fastest 1500 metres runners of the 1980s – in a race in Nice in 1985, Gonzalez came third behind Steve Cram and Saïd Aouita, who became the first man to run the distance below 3:30 minutes. Gonzalez set a Spanish record of 3:30.92 minutes and a few weeks later also ran a national record in the mile run with 3:47.79 minutes. He was chosen at the Spanish sportsman of the year in 1986.
He received the silver medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1994 from the Consejo Superior de Deportes.

## Statistics
### Personal bests

* 800 metres – 1:47.14 (1984)
* 1500 metres – 3:30.92 (1985)
* Mile run – 3:47.79 (1985) NR
* 2000 metres – 5:02.25 (1985)
* 3000 metres – 7:42.93 (1987)
* 5000 metres – 13:12.34 (1987)

### International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| 1974 | Gymnasiade | Florence, Italy | 1st | 3000 m | 8:23.4 |
| 1975 | European Junior Championships | Athens, Greece | 3rd | 3000 m | 8:17.0 |
| 1975 | World Cross Country Championships | Rabat, Morocco | 2nd | Junior | 21:18 |
| 1975 | World Cross Country Championships | Rabat, Morocco | 3rd | Junior team | 44 pts |
| 1976 | World Cross Country Championships | Chepstow, United Kingdom | 12th | Junior | 24:49 |
| 1976 | World Cross Country Championships | Chepstow, United Kingdom | 2nd | Junior team | 60 pts |
| 1978 | World Cross Country Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 58th | Senior | 41:46 |
| 1978 | World Cross Country Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 10th | Team | 324 pts |
| 1979 | World Cross Country Championships | Limerick, Ireland | 15th | Senior | 38:08 |
| 1979 | World Cross Country Championships | Limerick, Ireland | 9th | Team | 407 pts |
| 1980 | World Cross Country Championships | Paris, France | 22nd | Senior | 37:51 |
| 1980 | World Cross Country Championships | Paris, France | 6th | Team | 251 pts |
| 1980 | Olympic Games | Moscow, Russia | 8th (semis) | 1500 m | 3:42.55 |
| 1981 | World Cross Country Championships | Madrid, Spain | 27th | Senior | 35:50 |
| 1981 | World Cross Country Championships | Madrid, Spain | 4th | Team | 254 pts |
| 1982 | European Indoor Championships | Milan, Italy | 1st | 1500 m | 3:38.70 |
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 6th (semis) | 1500 m | 3:38.77 |
| 1983 | Mediterranean Games | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:39.59 |
| 1983 | Ibero-American Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | 800 m | 1:49.11 |
| 1984 | Olympic Games | Los Angeles, United States | 5th (heats) | 1500 m | 3:47.01 |
| 1985 | World Cross Country Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 123rd | Senior | 35:30 |
| 1985 | World Cross Country Championships | Lisbon, Portugal | 5th | Team | 321 pts |
| 1985 | European Indoor Championships | Athens, Greece | 1st | 1500 m | 3:39.26 |
| 1985 | World Indoor Games | Paris, France | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:41.36 |
| 1985 | European Cup (1st division) | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 1500 m | 3:45.33 |
| 1986 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 1st | 1500 m | 3:44.55 |
| 1986 | European Championships | Stuttgart | 4th | 1500 m | 3:42.54 |
| 1986 | Grand Prix Final | Berlin, Germany | 2nd | Mile | 42 pts |
| 1987 | European Indoor Championships | Liévin, France | 1st | 3000 m | 7:52.28 |
| 1987 | World Championship | Rome, Italy | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:38.03 |
| 1987 | European Cup | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:45.49 |
| 1988 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 3000 m | 7:55.29 |
| 1988 | Grand Prix Final | Berlin, Germany | 3rd | Mile | 3:56.67 |
| 1989 | World Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | 3000 m | 7:48.66 |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Croatia | 6th | 1500 m | 3:39.15 |
| 1991 | World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 7th | 3000 m | 7:48.44 |
| 1991 | World Championship | Tokyo, Japan | 8th (semis) | 1500 m | 3:41.71 |
| 1992 | European Indoor Championships | Genoa, Italy | 3rd | 3000 m | 7:48.82 |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 7th (heats) | 1500 m | 3:46.75 |

### National titles

* Spanish Cross Country Championships: 1980, 1981
* Spanish Athletics Championships
** 1500 m: 1976, 1979, 1980, 1986
** 5000 m: 1990

### Circuit wins
#### 1500 m

* Meeting de Paris: 1983
* Helsinki Grand Prix: 1985, 1986
* Fifth Avenue Mile: 1986
* Míting Internacional d´Atletisme Ciutat de Barcelona: 1987
* London Grand Prix: 1987

#### Mile

* ISTAF Berlin: 1987

#### 3000 m

* DN-Galan: 1987