Gary Lough (born 6 July 1970) is a British male former

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. He represented his country at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, finishing the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

final in ninth place. He won 1500 m bronze medals internationally at the

1993 Summer Universiade The 1993 Summer Universiade, also known as XVII Summer Universiade or World University Games Buffalo '93, took place in Buffalo, New York, United States. Sports * * * * * * * * * * * * Venues *Athletics – University at Buffalo Sta ...

and the 1994 European Cup. He also participated at the

1994 IAAF World Cup The 7th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 9–11, 1994, at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engl ...

and the 1996 European Cup. At the top national level he reached the podium three times. He was third in the 1500 m at the 1993 UK Athletics Championships, third over 800 m at the 1995 AAA Championships, and third in the 1500 m at the 1994 AAA Championships. He was a four-time Northern Irish national champion in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

, taking straight victories from 1990 to 1993. He was twice champion at the

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

British Universities Athletics Championships, winning the 1500m title in both 1991 and 1995. Born in Larne, Moyle Hospital in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, Lough attended Loughborough University and it was there that he met fellow student-athlete

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

and the two became friends. Five years after the pair began dating and later married, having two children: a daughter, Isla (2007), and a son, Raphael (2010). Lough suffered a knee injury which curtailed his competitive career and instead focused on training and managing his wife's career. Radcliffe set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the marathon while working with her husband. He drew public criticism for his coaching style after her fourth-place performance at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

. Radcliffe was distraught at missing a medal and Lough's trackside remonstration of her tactics was shown on television. Lough later apologised to his wife and the public for his reaction. Lough began working with multiple Olympic champion

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

in February 2018, with Farah remarking that he appreciated Lough's strong will and attention to detail as a coach.Mo Farah and Gary Lough discuss coaching partnership
'' Athletics Weekly'' (2018-02-27). Retrieved 2018-03-13.

Personal bests

– 3:34.76 min (1995) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

– 3:55.91 min (1995) * 3000 metres – 7:49.45 min (1995) * 3000 metres steeplechase – 8:26.33 min (1996)

International competitions

National titles

* Northern Irish Athletics Championships **800 m: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lough, Gary Living people 1970 births Sportspeople from County Antrim British athletics coaches Sports coaches from Northern Ireland British male steeplechase runners Male middle-distance runners from Northern Ireland World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Alumni of Loughborough University Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade