Liz McColgan

Liz McColgan
MBE

Personal information
Birth name	Elizabeth Lynch
Nationality	Scotland
Born	May 24, 1964 (1964-05-24) Dundee, Scotland
Residence	Carnoustie, Angus
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	45 kg (99 lb; 7.1 st)
Sport
Country	Great Britain Scotland
Sport	Running
Event(s)	10,000 metres Marathon 3,000 metres
Club	Dundee Hawks
Medal record Women’s Athletics Competitor for Great Britain Olympic Games Silver 1988 Seoul 10,000 m World Championships Gold 1991 Tokyo 10,000 m Competitor for Scotland Commonwealth Games Gold 1986 Edinburgh 10,000 m Gold 1990 Auckland 10,000 m Bronze 1990 Auckland 3,000 m

Elizabeth ("Liz") McColgan (née Lynch) MBE (born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. She was also a two-time gold medalist over the distance at the Commonwealth Games, as well as winning the New York City Marathon, Tokyo Marathon and London Marathon.

Early life

Elizabeth "Liz" McColgan (born Elizabeth Lynch, May 24, 1964) grew up in the Whitfield area of Dundee and was a pupil of St Saviour's RC High School. She joined her local athletics club, the Hawkhill Harriers, at age 12 at the advice of her PE teacher. Coached by Harry Bennett, she soon discovered a talent for distance running and won her first UK titles at the age of 18. Following Bennett's death, McColgan self-coached herself in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986.

Athletics career

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, McColgan took the gold medal in the 10,000 metres, finishing nearly 12 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor and giving the host country its only gold medal in Athletics. This was followed by a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

McColgan won silver in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1989. She became the only Scot to successfully defended a Commonwealth title at the 1990 games in Aukland, New Zealand, when she took the gold for the 10,000 metres again, as well as taking bronze at the 3,000 metres. In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In November of that year at the New York City Marathon, her first marathon, she won with a time of 2:27.23, beating the record for a debut marathon by three minutes.

In 1992, McColgan won the inaugural World Half Marathon Championships, where she also helped the British team claim the silver medal in the team competition. Later that year, she won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon. In 1996, McColgan won the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds.

Later career

McColgan finally retired from competing in August 2001 when she fractured a bone in her foot while training for selection for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She currently coaches young athletes, both at the Liz McColgan Health Club and Physiotherapy Centre in Carnoustie, Angus and at the Institute of Sport and Exercise at Dundee University.

Personal life

In 1987 she married Northern Ireland-born athlete, Peter McColgan and together they have five children. The oldest of their children, Eilish, won the 2004 British cross country championships in her age-group, and was ranked top in Scotland over 800 metres and 1500 metres in her age-group. The couple separated in November 2010, and in July of the following year she was accused by her estranged husband of assaulting him. She was cleared of the allegations in court in November 2011.

McColgan lives at Panbride House on the outskirts of Carnoustie in Angus.

Awards

In December 1991, McColgan appeared on This Is Your Life and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1992 and inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Scotland
1986	Commonwealth Games	Edinburgh, Scotland	1st	10,000 m	31:41.42
1987	World Cross Country Championships	Warsaw, Poland	2nd
1990	Commonwealth Games	Auckland, New Zealand	1st	10,000 m	32:23.56
			3rd	3,000 m	8:47.66
Representing Great 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
	World Championships	Tokyo, Japan	1st	10,000 m	31:14.31
	New York City Marathon	New York, United States	1st	Marathon	2:27:32
1992	World Cross Country Championships	Boston, United States	41st
	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	5th	10,000 m	31:26.11
	World Half Marathon Championships	Newcastle, United Kingdom	1st	Half marathon	1:08:53
	Tokyo Marathon	Tokyo, Japan	1st	Marathon	2:27:38
1993	World Cross Country Championships	Amorebieta, Spain	5th
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	3rd	Marathon	2:29:37
1995	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	5th	Marathon	2:31:14
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	6th	10,000 m	31:40.14
	Tokyo Marathon	Tokyo, Japan	7th	Marathon	2:30:32
1996	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:27:54
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	16th	Marathon	2:34:30
1997	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:26:52
1998	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:26:54

External links

• lizmccolgan.com

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Paul Gascoigne	BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1991	Succeeded by Nigel Mansell
Sporting positions
Preceded by Ingrid Kristiansen	Women's 5,000 m Best Year Performance 1987 – 1988	Succeeded by Kathrin Weßel
Preceded by Tegla Loroupe	Zevenheuvelenloop Women's Winner (15 km) 1994	Succeeded by Helen Kimaiyo