Robert de Castella
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
 World champion Robert De Castella (r.) receives congratulations from 3rd place finisher Waldemar Cierpinski (DDR) in Helsinki 1983. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | ||
Representing  Australia
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1983 Helsinki | Marathon |
| Commonwealth Games | ||
|
1982 Brisbane | Marathon |
|
1986 Edinburgh | Marathon |
Robert Francois de Castella MBE (born 27 February 1957 in Melbourne, Victoria) was a world champion marathon runner. He is popularly known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs and inner calm. He still holds the Oceanian record for the marathon.
Early life
De Castella was born of Swiss-Italian descent and was the oldest of seven children.[citation needed] He came from a family where sport was a way of life.[citation needed] His father Rolet ran marathons at 59 years of age, and his mother Anne was a state-level tennis player.[citation needed] Robert was an outstanding track athlete as a teenager and trained under Pat Clohessy from the age of 14.[citation needed]
Marathon career
1981 Fukuoka Marathon
de Castella first came to international attention when he won the 1981 Fukuoka Marathon in a time of 2:08:18, which was the fastest time recorded for an out-and-back course. It was not initially known to be a world best time, because his time was 5 seconds more than the time set by Alberto Salazar in the 1981 New York City Marathon. It later emerged that the New York course was about 148 metres short. de Castella's time was later ratified as the world record.[citation needed]
1982 Commonwealth Games Marathon
de Castella was the favourite to win the marathon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. At the start of the race, Tanzanian competitors Shahanga and Ikangaa raced to the lead and were 50m ahead of the pack after five minutes. After the 20 km mark, this gap had widened to several hundred meters. By the 23 km mark, Ikangaa had taken the lead from his compatriot, with de Castella in the main pack some 250m behind, but closing. de Castella passed the now tiring Shahanga at the 38 km mark, and in the next kilometer drew level with Ikangaa then took the lead. However Ikangaa was not done yet, and re-took the lead slightly. The duel continued for the remainder of the race. Eventually de Castella pulled away, and won by 80m in a time of 2:09:18, 12 seconds ahead of Ikangaa. M Gratton finished 3rd in 2hrs 12min, 6sec, and Shahanga faded to finish 6th. The race finished on the streets of Brisbane, not in the main stadium.[1]
1983 IAAF World Championships
de Castella won Australia's first athletic World Championships gold medal when he won the marathon in 1983, beating Ethiopian Kebede Balcha by 24 seconds.[2]
1983 Rotterdam Marathon
de Castella won the 1983 Rotterdam Marathon won in 2 hours, 8 mins and 37 seconds, defeating a deep field that included the previously unbeaten Alberto Salazar and Carlos Lopez. The race was also televised live back to Australia.[citation needed] de Castella's time was, at that point, the fourth fastest in history.[3]
1984 Olympic Games
de Castella was the favourite for the 1984 Olympic Games marathon.[4] He ran comfortably in the main group until about 33 kilometres, when he slowed down to drink water. At the same time, the leading runners picked up speed and de Castella suddenly found himself out of contention. He accelerated during the final kilometres to finish fifth. After the race, he explained that he had never been in top shape during the 1984 season.[citation needed]
1986 Commonwealth Games
de Castella defended his Commonwealth Games title in Edinburgh, winning in 2:10:15.
Later career
de Castella failed to finish the marathon at the 1987 World Athletics Championships.[citation needed] and never again placed in a major marathon. He represented Australia at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics, competing in four straight Olympic Games. He finished in the top ten in three Olympics, but never won a medal.
He retired from the sport in 1993 and lives in Canberra.
Career after marathon racing
From 1990 to 1995 de Castella was the director of the Australian Institute of Sport[5] and subsequently became executive director of Focus On You, a company focusing on corporate and community health and fitness.[5] He has also been actively involved in other organisations dedicated to encouraging healthy living for both children and adults.[6]
In 2003, de Castella launched "deeks", a specialist chain of grain and gluten free bakeries & cafés.[7][8] de Castella has been part of a long-running advertising campaign for the multi-vitamin tablet "Centrum".[citation needed]
Personal life
de Castella was married to former champion triathlete Gaylene Clews.[5] He lost his family home, along with many of his medals and other citations, in the 2003 Canberra bushfires.[9] Choosing to move rather than rebuild, he now lives in a nearby suburb. He later helped with the taskforce established for the reconstruction of areas worst affected by the fires.[10]
Achievements in sports
- 1979 - won the Victorian Championship and the Australian marathon title.
- 1980 - 10th in the 1980 Summer Olympics marathon in Moscow.
- 1981 - won the Fukuoka Marathon in 2h 08'18" (world record from 1981 to 1984)
- 1981 - won and set fastest time of 40min 13" in City to Surf, Sydney. (this time bettered in 1991)
- 1982 - won the 1982 Commonwealth Games marathon in Brisbane in 2h 09'18"
- 1983 - won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2h 08'37"
- 1983 - won the 1983 World Championships in Athletics marathon in Helsinki in 2h 10'03"
- 1984 - 5th in the Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles
- 1984 - 3rd in the Chicago Marathon in 2h 09'09"
- 1985 - 3rd in the Chicago Marathon in 2h 08'48"
- 1986 - won the 1986 Commonwealth Games marathon in Edinburgh in 2h 10'15"
- 1986 - won the Boston marathon in 2h 07'51"
- 1988 - 4th in the Tokyo Marathon in 2h 08'49"
- 1988 - 8th in the 1988 Summer Olympics marathon in Seoul
- 1991 - won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2h 09'42"
- 1992 - finished 26th in Olympic Marathon, Barcelona
- 2000 - awarded the Australian Sports Medal.
Records
As at May 2009, de Castella still held the following records:[11]
- Australian U20 10,000m - 28.54.4 on 16 Dec 1976 in Melbourne
- Australian 20 km Track - 58.37.2 on 17 Apr 1982 in Rome
- Australian 1 hr - 20,516m on 17 Apr 1982 in Rome
- Australian All Comers Marathon - 2h, 09' 18" in Brisbane Commonwealth Games 1982
- Australian Marathon - 2h 07' 51" at the 1986 Boston Marathon
Other awards
- 1983 - Australian of the Year
- 2000 - Australian Sports Medal
- 2001 - Australian Centenary Medal
References
- ^ WIlson, Lorraine (1984). Robert de Castella. Thomas Nelson Publishing.
- ^ Wünsche, Wolfgang (1984). The Heroes of Racetracks.
- ^ "Robert de Castella wins". Reading Eagle. April 10, 1983. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ Carter, Ron (August 7, 1984). "Lessons for de Castella". The Age. p. 52. Retrieved 26 August 2010. [dead link]
- ^ a b c "Australian of the Year Awards". Robert de Castella MBE - 1983 Award. National Australia Day Council. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "AIS Alumni". Robert de Castella. Australian Institute of Sport. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "Rob de Castella - Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist & Former Head of the AIS". IMG. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "deeks bakery and cafe". The story of deeks. deeks bakery and cafe. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ Nicholson, Brendan; Crabb, Annabel; Gordon, Josh; Guerrera, Orietta (January 20, 2003). "Disaster in the capital". The Age. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "Robert de Castella reaches out to Victorian fire victims". Australian Broadcasting Commission. February 10, 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
- ^ "Robert de Castella - Profile". Retrieved 25 August 2010.
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Commonwealth Games champions in the men's marathon | |
|---|---|
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- 1957 births
- Living people
- Olympic athletes of Australia
- Athletes at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Athletes at the 1992 Summer Olympics
- Athletes at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
- Australian long-distance runners
- Sportspeople from Melbourne
- Former world record holders in athletics
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Australian of the Year Award winners