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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | (1962-10-09)9 October 1962 (age 63) Rawmarsh, Rotherham, England |
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | middle-distance |
| Club | Rotherham Harriers & AC |
Medal record | |
Peter Elliott (born 9 October 1962) is a formermiddle-distance runner from theUnited Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the1500 metres at the1990 Commonwealth Games, the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the1988 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the800 metres at the1987 World Championships.[1]
Elliott was brought up inRawmarsh, near Rotherham, in the thenWest Riding of Yorkshire. He attended RawmarshComprehensive School and later worked as ajoiner atBritish Steel Corporation. He managed to establish himself as a world class athlete while working full-time. He lived at 40 Wheatcroft Avenue.[2]
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.[3]
In August 1982, he set a4 × 800 metres relay. World Record of 7 minutes 3.89 seconds with fellow British athletesSebastian Coe,Steve Cram andGarry Cook. At the1983 World Championships held inHelsinki, he finished 4th in the 800m final.[3]
Elliott was not selected for the 1500m at the1984 Olympic Games inLos 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.[4]
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 the1986 Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh, behind Steve Cram andTom McKean.[5] He then won a silver medal in the event at the 1987 World Championships inRome.[citation needed] The following year, he won the silver medal in the 1500m at the Olympic Games inSeoul.[1] He also finished fourth in the Olympic 800m final.[1]
In January 1990, he became the Commonwealth champion over 1500m inAuckland.[6] Later in the year, he ran 1:42.97 over 800m inSeville (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 the1990 European Championships inSplit.[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 championJens-Peter Herold in the 1500m race at the European Cup in Frankfurt. He also won theFifth Avenue Mile in 1987, 1989 and 1990, the latter in 3:47.83 min.[citation needed]
Elliott was three timesBritish 800 metres champion after winning the BritishAAA Championships title at the1982 AAA Championships and the1987 AAA Championships and being the best placed British athlete in 1983.[7] He was also theBritish 1500 metres champion, winning the AAA title in 1984 and 1988.[8]
He set a British indoor mile record of 3:52.02 in 1990, which stood until bettered byJosh Kerr in 2022.
After retiring from competition running in 1992, Elliott became acoach and race organiser. He joinedNewcastle-based sports marketing agency Nova International, where he was Director of Running. In 2004 he became the Athlete Services Manager for Yorkshire at theEnglish Institute of Sport inSheffield.[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 |
Commonwealth Games champions in men's1500 metres | |
|---|---|
| 1 mile (1930–1966) | |
| 1500 metres (1970–present) |
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