Willi Wülbeck is a retired German 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

 runner.

At the 1976 Montreal Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 Wülbeck came fourth. He missed the 1980 Moscow Olympics

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

 due to the West German boycott and could not participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 because of an injury. He also finished eighth at the 1974

1974 European Championships in Athletics

The 11th European Athletics Championships was held from 2 September to 8 September 1974 in the Stadio Olimpico of Rome, the capital of Italy.-Track:1969 |1971 |1974 |1978 |1982-Field:1969 |1971 |1974 |1978 |1982-Track:1969 |1971 |1974 |1978 |1982...

 and 1982 European Championships

1982 European Championships in Athletics

The 13th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 September to 12 September 1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.-Track:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |1990 |-Field:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |1990 |-Track:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |...

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His greatest success came as he won the gold medal at the 1983 World Championships

1983 World Championships in Athletics

The inaugural World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between August 7 and August 14, 1983....

 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. Wülbeck ran a time of 1:43.65 which is still the current German record. In the 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

 his personal best time was 3:33.74 minutes, achieved in August 1980 in
Koblenz

Koblenz

Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

. This result places him seventh on the German all-time performers list, behind 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...

, Jens-Peter Herold

Jens-Peter Herold

Jens-Peter Herold is a retired German middle distance runner who participated in several international championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s.In the 1987 World Championships he came sixth over 1500 metres...

, Dieter Baumann

Dieter Baumann

Dieter Baumann is a former German athlete and winner of 5000 m at the 1992 Summer Olympics.Born in Blaustein, Germany , Dieter Baumann was one of the few non-African athletes who were able to seriously challenge the African dominance of middle-distance running during the 1990s...

, Rüdiger Stenzel

Rüdiger Stenzel

Rüdiger Stenzel is a former German middle distance runner who participated in several international championships in the 1990s....

 and Jürgen Straub

Jürgen Straub

Jürgen Straub is a former East German middle distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres....

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He won ten West German championships over 800 m in row (1974–1983); an unprecedented achievement. He represented the clubs SC Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, SG Osterfeld Oberhausen and TV Wattenscheid.