Karl Fleschen is a retired West German runner who specialized in the 3000

3000 metres

The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...

, 5000

5000 metres

The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...

 and 10,000 metres.

He holds the current world record

World records in athletics

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking....

 in the rarely contested 4 x 1500 metres relay (14:38.8 minutes with Thomas Wessinghage

Thomas Wessinghage

Thomas Wessinghage was a German middle- and long-distance runner who won the 1982 European Championships' final over 5000 metres beating the British world-record holder David Moorcroft. Because he was already thirty at the time, and had been an international-level runner for a decade, this victory...

, Harald Hudak

Harald Hudak

Harald Hudak is a retired German middle distance runner who specialized in 1500 metres.He was one of the runners that set a world record of 14:38.8 minutes in the 4x1500 metres relay in 1977, together with Thomas Wessinghage, Michael Lederer, and Karl Fleschen...

 and Michael Lederer). In addition he still holds the German record in 25 km road race, with 1:13:58 hours from 1978.

He competed for the sports clubs LG Vulkaneifel and Bayer 04 Leverkusen during his active career.

Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Extra
1977	European Indoor Championships 1977 European Indoor Championships in Athletics The 8th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in San Sebastián, a city in Spain, in 1977.-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:* at GBRathletics.com* at GBRathletics.com*...	San Sebastián San Sebastián Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	1st	3000 m
1978	European Championships 1978 European Championships in Athletics The 12th European Athletics Championships were held from 29 August to 3 September 1978 in Prague, the capital city of Czechoslovakia.-Track:1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |-Field:1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |-Track:1971 |1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |...	Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million... , Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...	13th	5000 m
1980	European Indoor Championships 1980 European Indoor Championships in Athletics The 11th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in Sindelfingen, a city in West Germany, in 1980. The championships were boycotted by East Germany.-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:* at GBRathletics.com* at GBRathletics.com*...	Sindelfingen Sindelfingen Sindelfingen is a German town near Stuttgart at the headwaters of the Schwippe that is the site of a Mercedes-Benz assembly plant.-History:* 1155 First documented mention of Sindelfingen... , West Germany West Germany West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....	1st	3000 m
1984	European Indoor Championships 1984 European Indoor Championships in Athletics The 15th European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in Gothenburg, a city in Sweden, in 1984.-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:* at GBRathletics.com* at GBRathletics.com*...	Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area... , Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	3rd	3000 m