Gordon Pirie

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gordon Pirie

Douglas Alastair Gordon Pirie (born February 10, 1931 in Leeds , † December 7, 1991 in Lymington ) is a British athlete who was successful as a long-distance runner in the 1950s. In his ten-year career, he set multiple world records and won two medals at international events. In 1955 he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year , Great Britain's Sportsman of the Year.

Life

His career began in 1951 when he won his first AAA championship title over 6 miles in the British record time of 29: 32.0 seconds.

His successful years were 1953 and 1956.

  • 1953: Gordon Pirie becomes British champion in cross-country , 3 and 6 miles. He runs the British record over 10,000 m in 29: 17.2 minutes and over 5000 m in 14: 02.6 minutes. He is also the third runner in the British 4 × 1500 m relay, which sets a new world record with 15: 27.2 minutes.
  • 1956: Gordon Pirie sets three world records. In his world record over 5000 m in Bergen, Norway, he beats the later Olympic champion Wladimir Kuz . He then improved the world record twice over the non-Olympic 3000 m distance.

Gordon Pirie took part in the Olympic Games three times. Over 5000 m he finished fourth in Helsinki in 1952 , about ten seconds behind the German Herbert Schade . Four years later in Melbourne he won silver behind Wladimir Kuz , who was able to take revenge for Bergen. In 1960 in Rome , however, Gordon Pirie suffered the biggest bankruptcy of his sporting career: he did not make it to the finals over 5000 m and only finished tenth over 10,000 m. His achievements were seen as a prime example of unsuccessful periodization of athletic training. He trained consistently according to Woldemar Gerschler with a large number of repetitions in interval training Freiburg imprint.

At the European Championships in Stockholm in 1958 , he won the bronze medal behind Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak (in world record time) and Kazimierz Zimny ​​(both Poles). He had less luck at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff that same year when he finished fourth over 1 and 3 miles respectively.

He won his last championship title in 1961 over 3 miles. In the same year he ran the last of his British national records with 13: 16.4 minutes over 3 miles. In 1967 he still won the first British championships in orienteering, in 1968 he was able to defend the title. He also started at the first two World Championships in Finland in 1966 and in Sweden in 1968, finishing in 46th and 28th place respectively.

Gordon Pirie was an employee of Lloyds Bank in London . He wrote two autobiographical works. He died of cancer at the age of only 60 and left two daughters.

He was 1.88 m tall and weighed 65 kg.

Services

  • 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki :
    • 5000 m: fourth in 14: 18.0 min.
    • 10,000 m: Seventh in 30: 09.5 min.
  • 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne :
    • 5000 m: SILVER in 13: 50.6 min. Behind Wladimir Kuz (USSR) in 13: 39.6 min. And in front of his compatriot Derek Ibbotson in 13: 54.4 min.
    • 10,000 m: eighth in 29: 49.6 min.
  • European Championships 1958 in Bern :
  • 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff :
    • 1 mile: fourth in 4: 04.1 min.
    • 3 miles: fourth in 13: 29.6 min.
  • AAA championships:
    • 1951: 6 miles in 29: 32.0 min.
    • 1952: 6 miles in 28: 55.6 min.
    • 1953: 6 miles in 28: 19.4 minutes and 3 miles in 13: 43.4 minutes.
    • 1960: 6 miles in 28: 09.6 min.
    • 1961: 3 miles in 13: 31.10 min.
  • World records
    • 6 miles in 28: 19.4 minutes on July 10, 1953 in London
    • 4 × 1500 m in 15: 27.2 minutes (Pirie as 3rd runner) on August 3, 1953 in London
    • 5000 m in 13: 36.8 minutes on June 19, 1956 in Bergen
    • 3000 m in 7: 55.6 minutes on June 22, 1956 in Trondheim
    • 3000 m in 7: 52.8 minutes on September 4th 1956 in Malmö . This record was only improved six years later by the Frenchman Michel Jazy to 7: 49.4 minutes.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arnd Krüger (1998) Many roads lead to the Olympics. The changes in the training systems for middle and long distance runners (1850-1997), in: N. GISSEL (Hrsg.): Sportliche achievement im Wandel. Hamburg: Czwalina, pp. 41 - 56.
  2. ↑ Gordon Pirie: Running Wild . London: WH Allen 1961; Running Fast and Injury Free-Gordon Pirie Book by John Gilbody , online

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Pirie, Gordon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pirie, Douglas Alastair Gordon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British athlete
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 1991
Place of death Lymington