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Ian Thompson (runner)
English long-distance runner From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ian Reginald Thompson (born 16 October 1949) is an English former long-distance runner, who gained success in marathon running. His Commonwealth Games marathon record set in 1974 remains unbeaten. He also appeared at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[1]
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Biography
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Early career
Born in the town of Birkenhead, Cheshire (now Merseyside), Ian Thompson's family moved to Luton, where he ran for his school, Luton Grammar School. Thompson was regarded as just an ordinary club athlete and ranked 90th in Britain's 5,000 metres list at the time,[2] but suddenly broke through to world class as a marathon runner when asked to make up the numbers for his club,[citation needed] Luton United, in the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) 1973 AAA Championships on 27 October 1973. He won in a time of 2:12:40, at the time, the fastest ever debut at the distance and becoming the British marathon champion,[3] which qualified him for the Commonwealth Games three months later.
Commonwealth and European gold
Thompson travelled to Christchurch for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games with little expectation that he would be able to reproduce the performance that got him there. This was not the case however and he won with a margin of over 2 minutes in a time of 2:09:12, the fastest ever run in a championship race, a British record and only 39 seconds off the then world record of 2:08:34.[nb 1] This is currently (19 September 2020) the eighth fastest time by a British athlete (according to runbritainrankings.com) and still a Commonwealth Games record.[6] In the early autumn of 1974, Thompson competed at the European Championships in Rome, again he proved to be the class act of the field. He stayed with the leading group until the 20 kilometre mark and then steadily opening up a gap on the rest of the field[7] that stood at 98 seconds when he won in a time of 2:13:18.8.
Thompson's achievements were recognised in the 1974 SJA Annual Sports awards, where he was runner up to John Conteh in the Sportsmen of the Year category.[8]
Olympics
In 1976, he suffered cramps and finished only seventh in the trials for the Olympics, for which he was not selected. Although for many years among Britain's best, he never regained his 1974 eminence and contested only one more major championship. He won his second AAA title at the 1980 AAA Championships[9] to gain selection for the Moscow Olympics but dropped out of the race during the Games on 1 August.[1] His best times each year between 1977 and 1982 were in the 2:12 to 2:15 range.
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Personal life
His wife Margaret was an early pioneer of marathon running for women in Britain and ran a British best time of 3:07:47 in Korso, Finland, on 26 October 1975 and for a few months they held both the men and women's British marathon records, until Margaret's time was beaten by Christine Readdy (Kilkenny) in Feltham on 4 April 1976. Margaret (nee Tunstall) trained at Bedford College of Physical Education. At the time of his victory at the Commonwealth Games Thompson was studying for a PGCE at Trinity and All Saints College (TASC).[10]
Thompson was famously quoted at his 1974 peak as saying "I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance of the opposition. That way I'm not frightened by anyone's reputation".[11]
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Personal Bests
Competitions
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Notes
- The International Association of Athletics Federations has published a progression of road racing world bests and records that were widely recognised prior to ratification and official acceptance by the IAAF. According to that progression, Derek Clayton's 2:08:34 performance in Antwerp on 30 May 1969 was a world best at the time.[4] Other road racing authorities, including the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, consider Clayton's performance to have occurred on a short course and recognise other athletes – including Thompson – in the progression for world best in the marathon.[5]
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