Liz McColgan
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Birth name | Elizabeth Lynch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Dundee,Scotland | 24 May 1964|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
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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
[edit]Born Elizabeth Lynch,[1]she grew up in theWhitfieldarea ofDundee[2]and 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 Kearns[3][4]Coached by Harry Bennett, she soon discovered a talent for distance running and won her first UK titles aged 18.[3]Following Bennett's death, McColgan coached herself in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986.[3]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.[3]
Athletics career
[edit]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.[5]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.[2]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.[6]
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.[7]In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at theWorld Championshipsin Tokyo, Japan.[8]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.[9]
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.[10]
McColgan retired from competing in August 2001 when she fractured a bone in her foot while training for selection for the2002 Commonwealth Games.[11]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
[edit]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.[12][13]On 18 January 2014, McColgan marriedJohn Nuttall[14](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.[15]
McColgan's eldest daughter, Eilish, is also a distance runner. Eilish broke her mother's Scottish 10,000 metre record in 2022,[7]and emulated her mother by winning the10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Awards
[edit]In December 1991, McColgan appeared onThis Is Your Life[citation needed]and was votedBBC Sports Personality of the Year.[16]She was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empirefor services to athletics in1992[17]and inducted to theScottish Sports Hall of Famein 2004.[18]
Achievements
[edit]International competitions
[edit]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
[edit]- 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)
References
[edit]- ^"Liz McColgan profile at".Sports Reference Olympic Sports.Archived fromthe originalon 17 April 2020.Retrieved1 January2015.
- ^ab"Injuries force Scotland's most successful female athlete, Liz McColgan, into retirement Fracture is final straw for track queen".The Herald.11 August 2001.Retrieved1 January2015.
- ^abcd"Liz McColgan interview".Run Britain.Archived fromthe originalon 25 April 2012.
- ^Beattie, Geoffrey (16 December 1995)."McColgan's long run from factory to fame".The Independent.Retrieved21 November2011.
- ^"Liz McColgan biography".United Kingdom Athletics.Archived fromthe originalon 12 October 2011.Retrieved22 November2011.
- ^Bloom, Ben (16 October 2019)."Liz McColgan-Nuttall exclusive - on being dropped by Nike while pregnant and wanting to protect daughter Eilish from online trolls".The Telegraph.Retrieved4 June2020.
- ^abEilish McColgan beats Letesenbet Gidey - and mother Liz's time - as she sets Scottish 10,000m best,BBC, 6 June 2022
- ^Janofsky, Michael (31 August 1991)."TRACK AND FIELD; Super Decathlon Effort Is Just About a Footnote".New York Times.Retrieved23 November2011.
- ^McG. Thomas Jr., Robert (4 November 1991)."NEW YORK CITY MARATHON; A Brash McColgan Wins With Bold Debut".New York Times.Retrieved1 January2016.
- ^"SILVER MEDAL AND A HEART OF GOLD!; MALL FOR NOTHING: Scot McColgan loses marathon crown".Daily Record.14 April 1997.Retrieved21 June2019.
- ^"Interview: Liz McColgan, athletics coach and former athlete".The Scotsman.21 July 2011.Retrieved24 November2011.
- ^"Liz McColgan and husband Peter to divorce".The Courier.23 November 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 3 February 2012.Retrieved22 November2011.
- ^"Liz McColgan settles divorce with husband Peter".The Scotsman.11 March 2013.Retrieved24 August2015.
- ^"Athletics star Liz McColgan reveals her new-found happiness as she marries for the second time".Scottish Daily Record.19 January 2014.Retrieved20 January2014.
- ^"Hannah Nuttall".University of New Mexico Lobos athletics.27 April 2020.Retrieved17 July2022.
- ^"Sports Personality: Liz McColgan wins in 1991".BBC Sport.22 November 2013.
- ^United Kingdom list:"No. 52767".The London Gazette(Supplement). 30 December 1991. p. 15.
- ^"Liz McColgan, MBE".Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.Retrieved1 January2015.
External links
[edit]- 1964 births
- Living people
- Scottish people of Irish descent
- Sportspeople from Dundee
- Scottish female marathon runners
- British female marathon runners
- Scottish female long-distance runners
- British female long-distance runners
- Scottish Olympic medallists
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
- World Athletics Championships winners
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners
- World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists
- New York City Marathon female winners
- London Marathon female winners
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at St Saviour's Roman Catholic High School
- Recipients of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Best Marathon Runner Award
- 20th-century Scottish women
- 21st-century Scottish women