View source for Michalis Kousis

{{short description|Greek long-distance runner}}
'''Michalis Koussis''' (Greek: Μιχάλης Κούσης; 10 October 1953 – 24 May 2005) was a [[Greece|Greek]] Olympian [[Marathon (sport)|Marathon]] and [[Long-distance track event|long-distance runner]].

Koussis was born in 1953 in [[Agrinio]] in [[Aetolia-Acarnania]], western Greece. He was an athlete of the [[Agrinio Gymnast Company]] (GEA) and a member of the Greece national team from 1971 to 1987. He participated in the [[Olympic Games]] in 1976 and in 1984 and achieved many Panhellenic and Balkan records in marathon running. He finished fourth in the 1980 Boston Marathon. His greatest moment was the gold medal which he won in 1979, during the [[Mediterranean Games]], in [[Split, Croatia|Split]] (present-day [[Croatia]]), where he finished 1st in a time then considered a [[world record]]. Subsequently it was announced that the course was remeasured and found shorter than the official marathon distance. In the same year, he was named the [[Greek Male Athlete of the Year]]. He ran for the [[1982 European Athletics Championships – Men's marathon|1982 European Championships Marathon]].

==Olympics==
He was included in the Greece delegations in the  [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976]], [[1980 Summer Olympics|1980]], and [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984]] [[Summer Olympic Games]].<ref name=sref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/mikhail-koussis-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418045953/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/mikhail-koussis-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |accessdate=16 May 2012}}</ref>

He died in 2005, from heart problems, while training on [[Seih Sou]] in [[Thessaloniki]].<ref>[https://www.segas.gr/michalis-koysis-timi-sto-megalo-ellina/ Μιχάλης Κούσης τιμή στον μεγάλο Έλληνα segas.gr]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=A&f=18247&m=O19&aa=2 Τα ΝΕΑ: Final goodbye for Michalis Koussis]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[http://www.runningnews.gr/show_news.asp?id=75&parent=4 Runningnews.gr - Michalis Koussis died]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Footer Mediterranean Champions Marathon Men}}
{{PSAT Greek Male Athlete of the Year}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kousis Michalis}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Agrinio]]
[[Category:Greek male long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Greek male marathon runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Greece]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Greece]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Mediterranean Games]]
[[Category:Greek Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Greek sportsmen]]


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