Euan James Robertson (14 June 1948 – 11 December 1995) was a New Zealand distance runner in the 1970s, one of the great periods of New Zealand distance running.

Early life

He was born in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

near Wellington and educated at Scots College and

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

, 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.

Running career

At the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

he was fifth in the 3000m steeplechase. He was accepted by the selectors for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

on his fourth attempt, after running in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and achieving a New Zealand record time. He finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

; 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 Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

where he ran for the Mornington Harrier Club. At the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

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 Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

where he finished 5th - one place behind John Walker.

Death

On December 1995, Euan was running with a group of young athletes on the sand dunes at

Bethells Beach Te Henga, or Bethells Beach, is a coastal community in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Māori name for the area, "Te Henga", is in reference to the long foredunes which run along the beach and look like the or gunwale of an upturned waka hull. ...

near Auckland when he collapsed and died of a heart attack, aged 47.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Euan 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 Athletes from Lower Hutt People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Massey University alumni New Zealand male steeplechase runners New Zealand male cross country runners