About Roger Moens
Roger Moens (born 26 April 1930) is a Belgian former middle-distance runner. In 1955 he broke Rudolf Harbig's long-standing world record over 800 meters. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome he won a silver medal in the 800 m. == Biography == On 3 August 1955, in the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Moens improved Rudolf Harbig's 16-year-old 800-meter world record of 1:46.6, running 1.45.7. He finished two-tenths of a second ahead of Norwegian Audun Boysen, who was also under the previous world record. Moens' global record would stand for seven years, until it was improved in 1962 by New Zealander Peter Snell. As a Belgian record it stood for 20 years until broken in 1975 by Ivo Van Damme, who ran 1:45.31. On 8 August 1956, Moens along with his teammates set a world record in the 4 × 800 meter relay with a time of 7.15.8. Yet he did not go to the Melbourne Olympic Games, which took place in November. In training at night on a tennis court, he ran into a pole, injured himself, and, as world record holder and Olympic favorite, was forced to withdraw from the Games.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.