Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Glasgow, Scotland | 7 February 1995
Education | Virginia Tech [1] |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | 1500 metres |
College team | Virginia Tech Hokies |
Club | Giffnock North Athletics Club |
Coached by | Mark Rowland (2019–) [2] Ben Thomas (2013–2018) Gordon Lockie (–2013) |
Medal record |
Neil Gourley (born 7 February 1995) [3] 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.
Gourley is the European indoor record holder for the mile and the British indoor record holder for the 1500 m. He is a three-time national champion (1500 m).
Neil Gourley won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships.
He competed collegiately for the Virginia Tech Hokies, where in 2018 he anchored the men's distance medley relay team to an NCAA championship title. [4]
In 2019, Gourley reached the final of his specialist event in front of the home crowd at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow but was unable to compete in it due an illness. [5]
On 25 February 2023, the 28-year-old broke Josh Kerr's British indoor 1500 m record with a time of 3:32.48 for a win at the World Indoor Tour Final in Birmingham, replacing him at No.8 on the respective world all-time list. Gourley's success secured him also overall 1500 m World Indoor Tour victory, after his mile win in Boston, MA and runner-up mile finish in New York, NY (with a European indoor record over the distance) earlier that month. [6] [7] In March, he claimed the silver medal in his signature event at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul behind only Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 3:34.23 to 3:33.95. [8] It was Gourley's greatest sports achievement up to that point.
Later that year in May, Gourley opened his outdoor season with a 5000m personal best of 13:16. [9]
After winning the 1500 metres gold medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Gourley was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics [10] where he finished 10th in the final. [11]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | European U23 Championships | Tallinn, Estonia | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:45.04 |
2017 | European U23 Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 4th | 1500 m | 3:49.53 |
2018 | World Cup | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:53.24 |
2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 8th (h) | 1500 m | 3:46.63 1 |
World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 11th | 1500 m | 3:37.30 | |
2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 12th | 1500 m | 3:45.99 |
2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 6th | 1500 m | 3:35.87 |
World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 14th (sf) | 1500 m | 3:37.22 | |
European Championships | Munich, Germany | 8th | 1500 m | 3:38.40 | |
2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:34.23 |
World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 9th | 1500 m | 3:31.10 | |
2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 9th | 1500 m | 3:34.11 |
Olympic Games | Paris, France | 10th | 1500 m | 3:30.88 |
1Did not start in the final
Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to two miles. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1500 m came about as a result of running 3+3⁄4 laps of a 400 m outdoor track or 7+1⁄2 laps of a 200 m indoor track, which were commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century.
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The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles. The event is closely associated with its slightly longer cousin, the mile race, from which it derives its nickname "the metric mile".
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The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track.
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