Liz McColgan

Liz McColgan-Nuttall
MBE

Personal information
Birth name	Elizabeth Lynch
Born	(1964-05-24)24 May 1964 Dundee,Scotland
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	45 kg (99 lb)
Sport
Country	Great Britain Scotland
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	10,000 metres Marathon 3000 metres
Club	Dundee Hawks
Medal record Women's athletics RepresentingGreat Britain Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 10,000 m World Championships 1991 Tokyo 10,000 m World Indoor Championships 1989 Budapest 3000 m World Half Marathon Championships 1992 Newcastle Women's race 1992 Newcastle Women's team Commonwealth Games RepresentingScotland 1986 Edinburgh 10,000 m 1990 Auckland 10,000 m 1990 Auckland 3000 m World Marathon Majors 1991 New York City Marathon 1992 Tokyo Marathon 1996 London Marathon World Cross Country Championships 1987 Warsaw Women's race 1991 Amoriebieta Women's race

Elizabeth NuttallMBE(néeLynch,formerlyMcColgan;born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish formermiddle-andlong-distance runner.She won the gold medal in the10,000 metresat the1991 World Championshipsand a silver over the same distance at the1988 Olympic Games.McColgan earned a silver in the3000 metresat the1989 World Indoor Championships.She was a two-time gold medalist in the event at theCommonwealth Games,1992 World Half Marathonchampion and a two-time individual medallist at theWorld Cross Country Championships.She claimed three victories at theWorld Marathon Majors:at the 1991New York City Marathon,1992Tokyo Marathonand 1996London Marathon.

McColgan's 10,000 metres best of 30:57.07 set in 1991, moved her to second on the world all-time list at that time and stood as theScottish recorduntil 2022, when it was broken by her daughterEilish McColgan.Hermarathonbest of 2:26:52 set in 1997, stood as the Scottish record until 2019.

Early life

Born Elizabeth Lynch,she grew up in theWhitfieldarea ofDundeeand was a pupil ofSt Saviour's RC High School.

She joined her local athletics club, Hawkhill Harriers, aged 12 on the advice of her PE teacher Phil KearnsCoached by Harry Bennett, she soon discovered a talent for distance running and won her first UK titles aged 18.Following Bennett's death, McColgan coached herself in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986.From 1987 to 1989 McColgan was coached byJohn Anderson,including at the 1988 Olympics, after which she coached herself to the world 10,000m title and to wins in the London, New York and Tokyo marathons. She then metGrete Waitz,who coached her from 1992 to her retirement in 1996.

Athletics career

At the1986 Commonwealth Gamesin Edinburgh, as Liz Lynch, she took the gold medal in the10,000 metres,finishing nearly 12 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor and giving the host country its only gold medal in athletics.Earlier that year, she had won theNCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championshipsin themilerepresenting theUniversity of Alabama.In 1987, she won a silver medal at theWorld Cross Country ChampionshipsinWarsawrepresenting Scotland (Great Britain would not send a unified team to the World Cross until 1988). She finished behindAnnette Sergentof France but ahead ofIngrid Kristiansen.In September, she improved the UK 10,000m record to 31:19.82 while finishing fifth at theWorld Championshipsin Rome, in a race won by Kristiansen.

In 1988, now competing as Liz McColgan, she improved her own UK record with 31:06.99 in July to defeat Kristiansen in Oslo. Almost three months later, she ran 31:08.44 to win an Olympic silver medal in the inaugural women's 10,000 metres at theSeoul Olympics.She was defeated by the Soviet Union'sOlga Bondarenko.McColgan won silver in the3,000 metresat theWorld Indoor Championshipsin 1989. In January 1990, she became the only Scot to successfully defend a Commonwealth title at the1990 gamesinAuckland,New Zealand,when she again took the gold in the 10,000 metres, as well as bronze in the 3,000 metres.She missed the rest of the 1990 season due to pregnancy, giving birth to her daughter (future Olympic athlete)Eilishin November.Nikedropped her the moment she told them she was pregnant.

Just six weeks after her daughter Eilish was born, she contested an international 5 km race in Florida and won a bronze medal at the1991 World Cross Country Championships.In June 1991, she ran her lifetime best for the 10,000 m with 30:57.07 in Hengelo, becoming only the third woman to run under 31 minutes, moving to second on the world all-time list behind Kristiansen and narrowly ahead of Bondarenko. This stood as the Scottish record until it was broken by Eilish in 2022.In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at theWorld Championshipsin Tokyo, Japan.In November of that year at theNew York City Marathon,her firstmarathon,she won with a time of 2:27.23, breaking the record for a debut marathon by three minutes.

In March 1992, McColgan struggled to a 41st-place finish at theWorld Cross Country Championshipsin Boston. Then, in the summer, she finished fifth in the 10,000m final at theBarcelona Olympics.In September, she won the inauguralWorld Half Marathon Championships,where she also helped the British team claim the silver medal in the team competition. Two months later, she won theTokyo International Women's Marathon.

After more than two years struggling with injuries, McColgan finished fifth in the 1995 London Marathon and sixth in the 10,000m final at the1995 World Championshipsin Gothenburg. In 1996, she won theLondon Marathonin a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds, before finishing 16th in the marathon at theAtlanta Olympics.She finished second in the London Marathons of 1997 and 1998, running her career-best time of 2:26:52 in 1997. She gave her medal to a youngster in the crowd after the 1997 event.

McColgan retired from competing in August 2001 when she fractured a bone in her foot while training for selection for the2002 Commonwealth Games.However, she returned in 2004 to win the Scottish Indoor Championships 3000 metres (in 9:31). In 2007, she ran the London Marathon, finishing 25th in 2:50:38. She also completed the 2010 New York Marathon in 3:10:54. In 2017, she completed the inauguralStirling Scottish Marathonin 3:18:32.

Personal life

In 1987 she married Northern Irish athletePeter McColgan;they had five children together -Eilish,Martin, Eamonn, Kieran and Orla. The couple separated in November 2010 and finalised their divorce in March 2013.On 18 January 2014, McColgan marriedJohn Nuttall(1967–2023), a coach who worked as head of endurance coaching forBritish Athleticsand later coached inQatar,becoming step-mother to Nuttall's son, para-athleteLuke Nuttalland daughter, British international athleteHannah Nuttall.

McColgan's eldest daughter, Eilish, is also a distance runner. Eilish broke her mother's Scottish 10,000 metre record in 2022,and emulated her mother by winning the10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Awards

In December 1991, McColgan appeared onThis Is Your Lifeand was votedBBC Sports Personality of the Year.She was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empirefor services to athletics in1992and inducted to theScottish Sports Hall of Famein 2004.

Achievements

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
RepresentingScotland
1982	World Cross Country Championships	Rome,Italy	71st	4.7 km	16:03
1986	Commonwealth Games	Edinburgh,Scotland	1st	10,000 m	31:41.42
1987	World Cross Country Championships	Warsaw,Poland	2nd	5.1 km	16:48
1990	Commonwealth Games	Auckland,New Zealand	1st	10,000 m	32:23.56
			3rd	3000 m	8:47.66
RepresentingGreat Britain
1986	European Championships	Stuttgart,West Germany	12th	3000 m	9:02.42
			7th	10,000 m	31:49.46
1987	World Championships	Rome,Italy	5th	10,000 m	31:19.82
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul,South Korea	2nd	10,000 m	31:08.44
1989	World Indoor Championships	Budapest,Hungary	6th	1500 m	4:10.16
			2nd	3000 m	8:34.80
1991	World Cross Country Championships	Antwerp,Belgium	3rd	6.4 km	20:28
	World Championships	Tokyo,Japan	1st	10,000 m	31:14.31
1992	World Cross Country Championships	Boston, MA,United States	41st	6.4 km	22:21
	Olympic Games	Barcelona,Spain	5th	10,000 m	31:26.11
	World Half Marathon Championships	Newcastle,United Kingdom	1st	Half marathon	1:08:53
1993	World Cross Country Championships	Amorebieta,Spain	5th	6.4 km	20:17
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg,Sweden	6th	10,000 m	31:40.14
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, GA,United States	16th	Marathon	2:34:30
World Marathon Majors
1991	New York City Marathon	New York, NY,United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:32
1992	Tokyo Marathon	Tokyo,Japan	1st	Marathon	2:27:38
1993	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	3rd	Marathon	2:29:37
1995	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	5th	Marathon	2:31:14
	Tokyo Marathon	Tokyo,Japan	7th	Marathon	2:30:32
1996	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:27:54
1997	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:26:52
1998	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:26:54
2007	London Marathon	London,United Kingdom	25th	Marathon	2:50:38
2010	New York City Marathon	New York, NY,United States	129th	Marathon	3:10:54
Other marathons
2017	Stirling Scottish Marathon	Stirling,United Kingdom	16th	Marathon	3:18:32

Personal bests

• 1500 metres– 4:01.38 (Oslo1987)
• One mile– 4:26.11London(1987)
• 3000 metres– 8:38.23 (Nice1991)
• 5000 metres– 14:59.56 (Hechtel-Eksel1995)
• 10,000 metres– 30:57.07 (Hengelo1991)

Road

• 5 kilometres– 15:11 (Carlsbad, CA1991)
• 10 kilometres– 30:38 (Orlando, FL1989)
• 10 miles– 52:00 (Portsmouth1997)
• Half marathon– 1:08:42 (Dundee1992)
• Marathon– 2:26:52 (London1997)

External links

• Liz McColganatWorld Athletics
• Liz McColganatARRS
• Liz McColganatOlympics.com
• Liz McColganatOlympedia
• Liz McColganatTeam GB
• Liz McColganatCommonwealth Games Scotland
• Liz McColganat theScottish Sports Hall of Fame