Euan Robertson
Euan James Robertson (14 June 1948 – 11 December 1995) was a notable New Zealand distance runner in the 1970s, one of the great periods of New Zealand distance running.[1]
At the 1974 Commonwealth Games he was fifth in the 3000m steeplechase.
He was accepted by the selectors for the 1976 Summer Olympics on his fourth attempt, after running in Europe (Stockholm) and achieving a New Zealand record time. He finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase at Montreal; reducing the New Zealand record from his 8 minutes 22.8 seconds at Stockholm to 8 minutes 21.08 seconds.
Euan spent a number of years in Dunedin where he ran for the Mornington Harrier Club.
At the 1978 Commonwealth Games he was fourth in the 3000m steeplechase.
He ran in the 3000m steeplechase, and cross-country; and later won New Zealand senior titles in the 5000m, 10,000m, 3000m steeplechase and cross-country.
He represented New Zealand at the World Cross Country Championships on a number of occasions. His finest hour came in 1975 in Morocco where he finish 5th - one place behind John Walker.
He was born in Lower Hutt near Wellington and educated at Scots College and Massey University, where he gained a degree in agricultural soil science. He was a soil conservator for the Ministry of Works from 1973, then moving to Cambridge and Auckland and gaining an MBA degree.
He married Charlotte in 1973; they had four sons. He was running with a group of young athletes on the sand dunes at Bethells Beach near Auckland when he collapsed and died of a heart attack aged 47 in 1995.
References
- ^ Southern People: A dictionary of Otago Southland biography. Longacre Press Dunedin & Dunedin City Council. 1998. p. 427. ISBN 1-877135-119.
External links
- Euan Robertson at the New Zealand Olympic Committee
- Euan Robertson at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- 1948 births
- 1995 deaths
- New Zealand male middle-distance runners
- New Zealand male long-distance runners
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
- Olympic athletes of New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand
- Sportspeople from Lower Hutt
- People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand)
- Massey University alumni
- New Zealand male steeplechase runners
- New Zealand male cross country runners