Richard Simonsen is a former Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 sprinter who specialized in the 200

200 metres

A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

 and 400 metres

400 metres

The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...

.

He finished eighth in 4 x 400 metres relay

4 x 400 metres relay

The 4 x 400 meters relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 meters is run in lanes...

 at the 1971 European Championships

1971 European Championships in Athletics

The 10th European Athletics Championships were held from 10 August to 15 August 1971 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.-Track:1966 |1969 |1971 |1974 |1978-Field:1966 |1969 |1971 |1974 |1978-Track:...

 with his teammates Steinar Mo, Gøte Lundblad and Per Rom

Per Rom

Per Rom is a former Norwegian sprinter who specialized in the 200 and 400 metres.He finished eighth in 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1971 European Championships with his teammates Steinar Mo, Gøte Lundblad and Richard Simonsen. He became Norwegian champion in 400 m in 1971...

. He also participated at the 1969 European Championships

1969 European Championships in Athletics

The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16 September to 21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1,500 metres and the women's 4x400 metres relay event....

, but never at the Summer Olympics. He became Norwegian champion in 200 m in 1967, 1970 and 1971 and in 400 m in the years 1967-1970.