André Bucher (born 19 October 1976 in Neudorf, Switzerland) is a retired Swiss 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. He is best known for winning the gold medal at the 2001 World Championships

2001 World Championships in Athletics

The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America...

 in Edmonton in his event. Bucher also won the indoor

2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 8th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Pavilhão Atlântico in Lisbon, Portugal from March 9 to March 11 2001. It was the first time the Championships had been held in Portugal...

 bronze that same year.

Bucher won two European Championship silver medals in 1998

1998 European Championships in Athletics

The 17th European Athletics Championships were held from 18 August to 23 August 1998 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:...

, 2002

2002 European Championships in Athletics

The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...

 and also silver at the 2002 Indoor. Other achievements include finishing third at the 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final

2003 IAAF World Athletics Final

The 1st IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Stade Louis II, in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 13 September and 14 September 2003.The hammer throw event for men and women had to take place in Szombathely, Hungary a week previous as the Monaco stadium was not large enough to hold the event.One of the...

.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 in Sydney a medal was possibly chiselled out of him when he was barged by his competitor Andrea Longo

Andrea Longo

Andrea Longo is an Italian middle distance runner.He achieved his personal best just before Sydney Olympics, running 1'43"74 in Rieti in September 2000, reaching the second place in the all-time ranking in Italy, behind former world record holder Marcello Fiasconaro.He was disqualifed from the 800...

. While Bucher finished the race in fifth place, Longo was later disqualified.

On 17 August 2001, Bucher posted a personal best of 1:42.55 minutes in the 800 meters. That time currently ranks him as the 9th fastest athlete in history. On that race, he beat the young Yuriy Borzakovskiy

Yuriy Borzakovskiy

Yuriy Mikhailovich Borzakovskiy is a Russian middle distance athlete specializing in the 800 metres.-Athletic career:Borzakovskiy's first major international success was a victory at the 2000 European Indoor Championships when he was only 18 years old. At the 2000 Summer Olympics he reached the...

 by a decent margin. The week after, Borzakovskiy would post the time that currently makes him 8th fastest in history.

Bucher retired in May 2007 due to a long-term heel injury.

Achievements

Representing
1994	World Junior Championships 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-References:* at GBRathletics.com* from World Junior Athletics History...	Lisbon, Portugal	2nd	1500 m
1997	European U23 Championships 1997 European Athletics U23 Championships The 1997 European Athletics U23 Championships is the 1997 version of the European Athletics U23 Championships. It was held in the Finnish city of Turku.-Men's Results:-Women's Results:-Medals table:-External links:*...	Turku, Finland	2nd	800 m