| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | (1961-09-22)22 September 1961 (age 64) |
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance |
| Club | Charnwood AC |
Medal record | |
Jack Richard Buckner (born 22 September 1961) is a former British athlete who competed at the1988 Summer Olympics and the1992 Summer Olympics.[1]
Buckner was educated at St. Petroc's preparatory school inBude, Cornwall, where he won the Victor Ludorum trophy in 1975, as well as a scholarship toWorksop College in Nottinghamshire.[2] He clocked 4:16.90 for 5th place atThe English Schools Championships at 1500m as a 15-year-old. Three years later he won the National Junior 1500m title in 3:50.94, after an administrative blunder prevented him from competing in the English Schools' Championships of the same year.[citation needed]
After leaving Worksop College, Buckner attendedLoughborough University, where he read geography. He later completed an MBA degree. During his first year at university Buckner won the University Athletic Union (UAU) 800m title in 1:51.30.[citation needed] This title would prove to be his only real success during his university years, apart from setting a UK under 23 2000m record of 5:01.90 in 1983. It was when Buckner left university that he was able to concentrate fully on his running and by 1986 his 1500 m personal best had been reduced to 3:35.38.[citation needed]
Deciding that the 1500m was a difficult event to crack and due to his relative lack of 800m pace, Buckner decided to try his luck at the longer 5000m event. RepresentingEngland, the1986 Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh, Scotland,[3] was his first major race and he performed brilliantly finishing with a silver medal in 13:25.87 behind fellow countryman Steve Ovett.[4][5][6] Hot on the heels of the Commonwealth Games in 1986 were theEuropean Athletics Championships, which would prove to be a far tougher test. Following a 56-second last lap, Buckner went on to win the gold medal in a championship best time of 13:10.15, a record which still stands.
Buckner claimed a bronze medal at the1987 World Championships in Athletics (13:27.74) and in 1988 he finished 6th in the5.000 metres in Seoul (13:23.85) after an injury-ravaged season. This was how it would end for Buckner and despite making an appearance at the1992 Summer Olympics[1] after he came to within half a second of his best time from 1986, he progressed no further than the heats after a fall.
Buckner was twice theBritish 5000 metres champion after winning the BritishAAA Championships titles at the1987 AAA Championships[7] and1992 AAA Championships.[8]
Shortly after his running career ended, Buckner worked forAdidas before he and his family moved to New Zealand to concentrate on apple farming.[citation needed] This was unsuccessful and they returned to the United Kingdom; Buckner was appointed project director of the athletics board.[clarification needed]
Jack's younger brotherTom Buckner was also an international distance runner and gained recognition when he finished 5th at the 1994Commonwealth Games 3000m steeplechase (8:29.84). Both Tom and Jack have run sub 4-minute miles (Tom 3:58.90 at Portsmouth, UK in 1993) and Jack (3:51.57 at Koblenz, Germany in 1984). Tom and Jack Buckner were the first brothers since the 1950s to compete at the Olympics (in the 1992Barcelona Olympic games).
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NB UKAT denotes position on the United Kingdom all-time athletics lists.
European Athletics Championships champions in men's5000 metres | |
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