Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Born | 30 December 1976 |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Middle-distance running |
James Samuel McIlroy BEM (born 30 December 1976) is a British middle-distance runner. He initially represented Ireland before changing his nationality. When he was 21 years old he showed great promise by finishing fourth over 800 metres in the 1998 European Athletics Championship having taken 14 seconds off his personal best in only 13 months. Serving a 1-year ban for changing nationality McIlroy still produced the 3rd fastest British All - time 1000 metres behind Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram when finishing 4th in Rieti, (Italy). In 2000 he won his first of five British Championships and representing Great Britain made the Sydney Olympics semi - final . Representing Northern Ireland McIlroy managed 6th at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Final after getting badly boxed in. From 2002 onwards McIlroy spent considerable time in South Africa training and after being injured for most of the 2003 - 4 season he again finished 4th at the European Indoor Championships in Valencia in 2005.
On 19 March 2008 McIlroy, who had been Britain's top middle-distance runner for a decade, announced his immediate retirement from athletics.
He had competed for Great Britain & Northern Ireland earlier in the month at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Valencia but failed to finish his opening round heat of the 1500 metres, due to pulled intercostal muscles. Apart from the blip in Spain, McIlroy has had a very successful indoor campaign winning the Irish 800 metres and UK 1500 metres titles.
McIlroy, a member of Windsor, Slough & Eton had moved up to the latter distance after concentrating on 800 metres since bursting on the scene with a fourth place at the European Championships in 1998.
McIlroy came out of retirement in 2010 whilst completing his MBA to compete at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games making the semi - finals of both the 800 metres and 1500 metres.
McIlroy was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to athletics in Northern Ireland. [1]
Thomas McKean is a Scottish former middle-distance runner representing Great Britain and Scotland internationally. He was European champion over the 800 metres in 1990, and a world (1993) and European (1990) indoor champion over the 800 metres, one of the few athletes to be both indoor and outdoor European champion in the event simultaneously. He won the IAAF World Cup 800 metres in 1989.
Thomas Benjamin Lancashire is an English middle-distance runner. Lancashire represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 1500 m.
John Whetton is a retired British middle-distance runner. He is best noted for winning gold in the 1500 metres at the 1969 European Athletics Championships and reaching the 1500 metre final in both the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics.
Laura Muir is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, and has three other top five placings in 1500 m finals at the World Athletics Championships, finishing fifth in 2015, fourth in 2017 and fifth in 2019. She is a two-time European 1500 m champion from 2018 and 2022 as well as the 2022 Commonwealth Games 1500 m champion and 800 metres bronze medallist.
Chris O'Hare is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competes in the 1500 metres. He has represented Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Guy Learmonth is a Scottish and Great British athlete specialising in the 800 metres. His PB currently stands as 1:44.73 and he is the 3rd fastest Scottish 800m athlete of all time. Learmonth reached the final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 European Indoor Championships, finishing 6th in both. He was named the GB&NI captain for the European Indoor Championships in 2019. Guy has broken the Scottish 800m Junior Record 9 times and holds the English AAA U20 Indoor & BUCS Championship records.
Paul Donovan (athlete) (born 11 July 1963) is an Irish former long-distance runner. He was the silver medallist in the 3000 metres at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He was the number one ranked indoor runner that year. He represented Ireland at the Olympics twice: in 1984 and again in 1992.
Adelle Tracey is a middle-distance runner. Born in the United States, she competes for Jamaica since 2022, having previously represented Great Britain, where she grew up. Tracey competes primarily in the 800 metres. She placed fourth in the event at the 2018 European Athletics Championships, but claimed a bronze in the North American equivalent, the 2022 NACAC Championships representing her new country, Jamaica. The following day, Tracey won silver for Jamaica in the 1500 metres event in the same championships.
Ciara Mageean is a middle-distance runner from Portaferry in Northern Ireland who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is the 2024 European Athletics Championships gold medalist at the distance, the first individual Irish European champion since Sonia O'Sullivan.
Jake Wightman is a British middle-distance runner who primarily competes in the 1500 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold in a middle distance event for a British male since Seb Coe's 1500 m title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. At the European Athletics Championships, Wightman earned a bronze in 2018 and a silver for the 800 metres in 2022. He won bronze medals at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Ann Margaret Griffiths is a retired English athlete who competed in middle-distance events. In the 800 meters, she won a silver medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and finished seventh in the final at the 1991 World Championships, before going on to represent Great Britain in the 1500 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Anthony "Tony" Morrell is a male retired English middle-distance runner.
Josh Kerr is a British middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. Indoors he is the 2024 World Indoor champion in the 3000 metres. He holds the world best time in the short track 2 mile and the European record in the short track mile & 3000 m, along with the British record in the outdoor 1500m and mile.
Karen Hargrave is a retired Scottish middle and long-distance runner. She finished fourth in the 3000 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games for Scotland, and finished seventh in the 1500 metres representing Great Britain at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Melissa Courtney-Bryant is a British middle- and long-distance runner. She won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze for the 3000 metres at the 2019 and 2023 European Indoor Championships.
Neil Gourley is a Scottish middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal in the event at the 2023 European Indoor Championships and bronze at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships.
Jemma Reekie is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Katie Snowden is an English middle-distance runner representing England and Great Britain, specialising in the 1500 metres. She finished fourth in the event at the 2022 European Athletics Championships.
Piers Copeland is an English middle-distance runner, from Wimborne (Dorset), specialising in the 1500 metres. He represented Great Britain at the 2021 European Indoor Championships finishing fifth in the final. Earlier, he won a silver medal at the 2019 European U23 Championships.
Ben Pattison is a British middle-distance runner, who specializes in the 800 metres. Representing Great Britain in the 2023 World Athletics Championships, he won the bronze medal in the 800 metres, mirroring the medal he won for England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.