page_title: 2011 in the sport of athletics
section_title: Deaths
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 in the sport of athletics / Deaths
caption_attribution_description: De Keniaan Samuel Wanjiru ligt ruimschoots op kop en wint uiteindelijk de halve marathon in 58 minuten en 58 seconden. Een nieuw wereldrecord. Hij was daarmee 18 seconden sneller dan zijn oude wereldrecord van 58.53, dat hij in februari van dit jaar in Dubai vestigde. Wanjiru verdiende met het nieuwe record een premie van 25.000 dollar.
context_page_description: In 2011, the foremost athletics event was the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu. The other major global level competition held in 2011 was the World Cross Country Championships.
  The 2011 season marked the re-establishment of the African Cross Country Championships, an event created in response to the change of the World Cross Championships from an annual to a biennial format. It was also the first year since 1992 that the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was not held, as that competition also switched to a two-year schedule.
context_section_description: 3 January – Zbigniew Jaremski (61), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1976 Olympics
  16 January – Stefka Yordanova (64), 1973 European indoor champion over 800 m
  3 February – Robert Young (95), 400 m relay silver medallist at the 1936 Olympics
  5 February – Albert Yator (17), Kenyan world junior steeplechase medalist
  13 February – Inese Jaunzeme (78), javelin thrower and Latvia's first Olympic champion
  19 February – Ollie Matson (70), 400 m runner and 1952 Olympic medallist
  25 February – Peter Hildreth (82), 1950 European Championships medallist in the hurdles
  14 March – Eduard Gushchin (60), 1968 Olympic medallist in the shot put 
  19 April – Grete Waitz (57), distance runner and world champion and record holder in the marathon
  16 May – Samuel Wanjiru (24), first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon and a former half marathon world record holder
  28 May – Romuald Klim (78), 1964 Olympic champion and former world record holder in the hammer throw
  30 May - Ricky Bruch, (64) former world record holder in the discus throw
  6 June – Benjamín González (53), World and European indoor medallist over 400 and 800 metres
  10 June – Cosimo Caliandro (29), 3000 metres gold medallist at the 2007 European Indoors
  10 July – Ragnar Lundberg (86), pole vaulter and 1950 European champion
  12 July – Kurt Lundquist (85), 400 m runner and 1948 Olympic relay medallist
  17 August – Pierre Quinon (49), 1984 Olympic pole vault champion
  2 October – Vera Popkova (68), 1971 European indoor champion over 400 metres
  13 October – Abdoulaye Seye (77), sprinter and 1960 Olympic medallist over 200 m
  12 December – Sunday Bada (42), 1997 World indoor champion over 400 metres and Olympic relay gold medallist
caption: The 2008 Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru died in May.
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