Robert Alexander Barel (born 23 December 1957 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch former professional triathlete.
Career Originally a swimmer, Barel competed and won his first triathlon in 1982 (Amsterdam). Won the very first ETU European Championships in 1985 (Immenstadt). Competed in the first ITU World Championships in 1989 (Avignon, 5th place). Won the first ITU Long Distance Championships in 1994 (Nice). Competed in the first Olympic triathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He took forty-third place with a total time of 1:55:36.69 at the age of 42.
Titles World Champion Long Distance triathlon: 1994 European Champion Middle Distance triathlon EK: 1986, 1988, 1994 European Champion Olympic distance triathlon: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 National Champion Olympic distance triathlon: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1998 National Champion duatlon: 1993, 1994, 1997 National Champion cross triathlon: 2005, 2008 European Champion cross triathlon: 2008 National Champion Mountainbike Masters2: 2005, 2006, 2007
Major achievements Year Pst. Tournament Venue1984 3rd National Championship Long Distance Almere, Netherlands1985 2nd European Championships Long Distance Almere, Netherlands1987 2nd European Championships Long Distance Joroinen, Finland1988 1st European Championships Olympic Distance Venice, Italy1989 5th World Championship Olympic Distance Avignon, France1989 2nd European Championships Olympic Distance Cascais, Portugal1990 5th World Championship Olympic Distance Orlando, Florida, United States1990 2nd European Championships Olympic Distance Linz, Austria1991 2nd European Championships Olympic Distance Geneva, Switzerland1992 2nd National Championship duatlon Den Dungen, Netherlands1992 3rd World Championship Olympic Distance Huntsville, Ontario, Canada1993 2nd European Championships Long Distance Embrun, France1995 3rd National Championship Long Distance Almere, Netherlands1996 3rd European Championships duatlon Mafra, Portugal1997 2nd Long Distance World Championships Nice, France1997 3rd National Championship Olympic Distance Roermond, Netherlands1998 2nd World Long Distance Sado Island, Japan2000 43rd Olympic Games Sydney, Australia2003 2nd National Championship Middle Distance Nieuwkoop, Netherlands2004 3rd National Championship Middle Distance Nieuwkoop, Netherlands2008 2nd Masters 2 National Championship Mountainbike Oss, Netherlands
References Dutch Olympic Committee sports-reference