Tag: Aritmendi

Francisco Aritmendi Criado – was a Spanish long-distance runner who competed mainly in cross country running competitions – died on 12 April 2020 of pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain in April.   At his death, he remained the only Spaniard to have won the world cross country title.   He was the gold medallist at the 1964 International Cross Country Championships. He was a six-time competitor at the competition and also shared in a team silver in 1962. However, his failure to finish at the 1963 race drew great criticism as Spain missed the team title as a result.   Aritmendi also competed on the track and represented Spain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the 5000 metres. He was the Spanish record holder in that event, having beco...