Mile News


The Peter Elliott interview: How silver still bothers an Olympic man of steel

January 29, 2018

Best ever race? "Winning the Commonwealth Games. I’d visualised how the race would go and had dreamed about it a lot. Nobody could beat me."

By Paul Davis, The Star

Peter Elliott had flown out to Seoul in South Korea in 1988 a troubled man as a national newspaper campaigned against his Great Britain selection for the 1500 meters ahead of reigning champion Sebastian Coe.

He injured himself while out there. He needed injections in his abdomen just so he could warm up. He ran seven races in nine days as he was also entered in the 800 meters.

Coming second was a near-miracle, Elliott’s finest ever achievement on a running track. He finished only one place out of the medals in the shorter of his two events as well. Yet he traveled wearily home to Rawmarsh in Rotherham ready to retire.

“My memories are tinged,” he recalls. “There was all the controversy that surrounded it. I went out there under a cloud. It took me until 2000 to appreciate that medal.

“I was disappointed with the silver. I’d dreamed of being an Olympic champion since I was a kid. I had a pain in my abdomen before the final of the 800 meters and had to have an injection. The rounds of the 1500 meters came after. I’d jog, stretch, have another injection, do my strides, then race.

“I came back and thought my career was over.”

Today, Elliott MBE is 55 and a leading figure in the provision of sports medicine & science for athletes on the United Kingdom’s ‘World Class Performance Program’ who are targeting the Olympics, Winter Olympics or Paralympics.

Continue reading at: thestar.co.uk

Tags: seoul 1988 (2) , peter elliott (5) , commonwealth games (16)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!