Andrew Lemoncello (born 12 October 1982) is a Scottish

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

who competes in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

events. He won a team junior

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the 2001 European Cross Country Championships and won a scholarship to attend

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

in 2004. At Florida State he was second in the

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate outdoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for athletes from institutions that make up ...

in the steeplechase. He represented Great Britain at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

in 2005 and 2007. He ran in the steeplechase event at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. Lemoncello completed his debut marathon in 2010, finishing eighth in the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

Early life

Born on 12 October 1982 in Tokyo, Japan, to an American father and Scottish mother, Lemoncello grew up in

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, Scotland, where he attended

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras ...

. While at Madras College, he broke all distance running records and still held them in 2007. After school he attended

Stirling University The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

and continued his progress at the on-campus Scottish Institute of Sport. Throughout this time he was an active runner for the Fife Athletics Club. While at Madras and Stirling he won the Scottish National Championship sixteen times, he was a member of the gold winning European Cross Country team, came third at the 2004 British University Cross Country Championships, finished eighth at the

World Mountain Running Championships The World Mountain Running Championships (''World Mountain Running Trophy'' until 2008), is an international mountain running competition contested by athletes of the members of WMRA, World Mountain Running Association, the sport's global governing ...

2004 and was the British University Champion in the 5000 m and 10000 m events.

College athletics

Due to his outstanding performances and promise, Lemoncello gained a scholarship to study at

(FSU) in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

in 2004. Lemoncello was an instant success, winning the ACC performer of the week at his first outing for FSU. In his first year at FSU he led the team to first place at the Florida Intercollegiate Championships. He also came only one second short of the university's 8000 m record. At the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

South Regional Championships, Lemoncello was fifth and led his college team, "The Seminoles", to first place. At the national NCAA Championships, Lemoncello was the Seminoles' top scorer, finishing 50th in the 10,000 m run. In 2005, Lemoncello continued his outstanding form, winning the 5,000 m and 10,000 m titles at the 2005

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

Outdoor Track Championship. He also became FSU all-time record holder for the 3,000 m

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

by shattering the 29-year-old record by more than 15 seconds. He also won the ACC indoor 3000 m steeplechase title. Lemoncello ended the season rated 2nd in the region and 12th in the US at the 10,000 m. Lemoncello maintained his form in the 2006 season, breaking four more FSU records to hold five (cross country 8,000 m, indoor 5,000 m, outdoor 5,000 m, 3,000 m steeplechase and the 10,000 m). He led the field from start to finish to win the ACC 3,000 m steeplechase title. At the NCAA, Lemoncello was 12th in the 5,000 m, 5th in the 10,000 m and second in the steeplechase. Lemoncello joined the McMillanElite training group based in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

in 2007, under the direction of coach Greg McMillan. Lemoncello had to withdraw from the 2006

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in Australia due to commitments at FSU. He had exams and the NCAA Indoor Championships in the days leading up to the games and would not have had sufficient time to acclimatise to perform at his best.

Professional

He competed in the steeplechase at the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

but did not progress beyond the heats. He returned for the 2007 World Championships but again did not go past the heat stage. He made the world championship team after running 27:57 in the 10,000m at Brutus Hamilton Invitational on the track. Lemoncello ran in the senior race at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and finished in 78th place. He represented Great Britain at the

, again being knocked out in the heats of the steeplechase. He took part in the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham and was 26th. He closed the year with a 29th-place finish at the

2009 European Cross Country Championships The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 near Dublin city, Fingal in Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first tim ...

. Lemoncello made his

debut in April 2010 at the

. He finished in a time of 2:13:40 for eighth place, the first European man to cross the line. In September 2010, he competed in the

Great Yorkshire Run The Great Yorkshire Run is an annual 10K run road race previously held in September in Sheffield City Centre, England, and now held in July in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It is a part of the Great Run series of events, and as such is linked with ...

in Sheffield and finished in fourth place with a time of 29:08 minutes.

Achievements

*Lemoncello wins Stirling Scottish Marathon 21 May 2017 2:25:01 *Lemoncello placed 12th at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 10,000m running for Scotland *Lemoncello qualified for the 2006 Commonwealth Games running for Scotland *Qualified for the European and World Championships running for Great Britain *2nd in the NCAA in the 3000m steeple, 12th in the NCAA in the 5000m and 5th among all 10K runners in the NCAA in 2006 *Lemoncello was selected to run for Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing 9th in round 1. *Set a new World Record on 19 October 2013 for 1/2 marathon on treadmill in a time of 1:07:29, breaking the previous record by 1 minute.

Personal bests

References

External links

*
Florida State University biography page
(archived) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemoncello, Andrew 1982 births Living people Athletes from Tokyo Sportspeople from St Andrews Scottish male middle-distance runners Scottish male long-distance runners Scottish male steeplechase runners Olympic male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Scotland Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain British Athletics Championships winners People educated at Madras College Alumni of the University of Stirling Florida State University alumni Italian Scottish sportspeople Scottish people of Italian descent