| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 9 October 1962 Rawmarsh, Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Elliott (born 9 October 1962 in Rotherham, Yorkshire) is a former middle-distance runner from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1987 World Championships.
Elliott was brought up in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, in the then West Riding of Yorkshire. He attended Rawmarsh Comprehensive School and later worked as a joiner at British Steel Corporation. He managed to establish himself as a world class athlete while working full-time. He began his athletic career by running in the Young Athletes League for his local club, Rotherham Harriers, where he variously held the under 15, under 16 and under 19 record for 800m. He also held the UK under-17 record with a time of 1 minute 50.7 seconds, which stood for nearly 10 years. He excelled as a schoolboy athlete, winning four English Schools titles, twice at 800 metres and twice over the country. [1]
In August 1982, he set a 4 × 800 metres relay. World Record of 7 minutes 3.89 seconds with fellow British athletes Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Garry Cook. At the 1983 World Championships held in Helsinki, he finished 4th in the 800m final. [2]
Elliott was not selected for the 1500m at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, losing out to the eventual gold and silver medallists, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, and the then world record holder, Steve Ovett. At the time, it was a very controversial decision. After Ovett and Cram had secured their places, the third place was either Coe's or Elliott's. Although Elliott defeated Coe at the AAA's Championships, the selectors opted for Coe who was the reigning Olympic champion having won the event at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. [3]
Elliott was selected for the 800m and qualified for the semi-finals, but had to withdraw due to an injury.[ citation needed ]
Elliott won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh behind Steve Cram and Tom McKean.[ citation needed ] He then won a silver medal in the event at the 1987 World Championships in Rome.[ citation needed ] The following year, he won the silver medal in the 1500m at the Olympic Games in Seoul.[ citation needed ] He also finished fourth in the Olympic 800m final.[ citation needed ] In January 1990, he became the Commonwealth champion over 1500m in Auckland.[ citation needed ] Later in the year, he ran 1:42.97 over 800m in Seville (ranking him No. 1 in the world for 1990, and making him the third fastest Briton of all time over the distance).[ citation needed ] As of August 2024, he is the fourth fastest Briton of all time, after Coe, Ben Pattison and Cram. This made him the favourite to win both middle distance gold medals at the 1990 European Championships in Split.[ citation needed ] However, due to injury problems he only entered for the 1500m and was tripped in the semi-final. After an appeal by the British team he was reinstated (against his own wishes and those of some other athletes[ citation needed ]), and went on to finish fourth in the final.[ citation needed ] A year later, he defeated the European champion Jens-Peter Herold in the 1500m race at the European Cup in Frankfurt. He also won the Fifth Avenue Mile in 1987, 1989 and 1990, the latter in 3:47.83 min.[ citation needed ]
He set a British indoor mile record of 3:52.02 in 1990, which stood until bettered by Josh Kerr in 2022.
After retiring from competition running in 1992, Elliott became a coach and race organiser. He joined Newcastle-based sports marketing agency Nova International, where he was Director of Running. In 2004 he became the Athlete Services Manager for Yorkshire at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.[ citation needed ]
| Distance | Mark | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 400 m | 48.2 | 1984 |
| 600 m | 1:16.6 | 1983 |
| 800 m | 1:42.97 | 1990 |
| 1000 m | 2:16.30 | 1990 |
| 1500 m | 3:32.69 | 1990 |
| Mile | 3:49.20 | 1988 |
| 2000 m | 4:52.82 | 1987 |
| 3000 m | 8:07.51 | 1991 |
Stephen Cram, is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", after his home town, Cram set world records in the 1,500 m, 2,000 m, and the mile during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to run 1,500 m under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1,500 m gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and the 1,500 m silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe,, often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. He set nine outdoor and three indoor world records in middle-distance track events – including, in 1979, setting three world records in the space of 41 days – and the world record he set in the 800 metres in 1981 remained unbroken until 1997. Coe's rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.
Stephen Michael James Ovett, is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metres and the mile run, and a world best at two miles. He won 45 consecutive 1500 and mile races from 1977 to 1980.
Peter Kipchumba Rono is a former Kenyan athlete, who won the 1,500 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The women's 1500 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 24 to 28.
Abdi Bile is a former middle distance runner. He holds the highest number of national records in athletics in Somalia across various disciplines. He is currently Somalia's national record holder in nine athletic disciplines, and is thus far Somalia's most decorated athlete in history.
Olaf Beyer is a former East German 800 metres runner.
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.
Jack Richard Buckner is a former British athlete.
The men's 1500 metres event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 59 competitors from 46 nations, with four qualifying heats (59) and two semi-finals (26), before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.19 seconds by Peter Rono of Kenya, the nation's first title in the event since 1968 and second overall.
The men's 1500 metres was an event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. The final was held on August 11, 1984. Fifty-nine athletes from 40 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.87 seconds by Sebastian Coe of Great Britain, the first man to successfully defend an Olympic 1500 metres title. Steve Cram's silver made it the first time a nation had gone 1–2 in the event since Great Britain had done it in 1920. José Manuel Abascal's bronze was Spain's first medal in the event.
The men's 800 metres event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place between 3 and 6 August. Sixty-nine athletes from 55 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.64 seconds by Joaquim Cruz of Brazil, the nation's first medal in the men's 800 metres. Sebastian Coe of Great Britain repeated his silver-medal performance from 1980, the eighth man to win two medals in the event.
The men's 800 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. There were a total number of 41 participating athletes from 28 nations, with six qualifying heats, three semifinals, and the final held on Saturday July 26, 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.5 seconds by Steve Ovett of Great Britain, the nation's first gold medal in the men's 800 metres since winning four in a row from 1920 to 1932. It was Great Britain's sixth overall title in the event.
Peter Gerard O'Donoghue is a former New Zealand and Australian athlete specialising in middle distance running.
These are the official results of the Men's 800 metres event at the 1978 European Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The final was held on 31 August 1978.
Charles Da'Vall Grice, informally known as Charlie Grice, is a British middle-distance athlete.
Stephen Paul "Steve" Crabb is a former middle-distance runner from England. He ran competitively in the 1980s and 1990s for the London athletic club Enfield Harriers. He ran the 1500 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
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.
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, the European record in the short track mile & 3000 m, and the British record in the outdoor 1500m and mile.
Commonwealth Games champions in men's 1500 metres | |
|---|---|
| 1 mile (1930–1966) |
|
| 1500 metres (1970–present) |
|
