Lee Joseph Troop (born 22 March 1973) is an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

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 ...

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

from

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. He started out as a long-distance track runner and he represented Australia in the 5000 m at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

and attended his first

World Athletics Championships 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 ...

the following year. He broke the Australian record in the 5000 m in 1999 and changed to the marathon distance in 2000. He made his Olympic debut in the 2000 Olympic marathon race in Australia but finished in 66th place after an injury. Further injuries interrupted his next two seasons, but he returned and finished 17th in the marathon at the 2003 World Championships and 27th at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He qualified for the

2008 Beijing 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 Nat ...

but despite his aim of making the top-ten, he finished in 60th place.

Early life

He became involved in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

at the age of 11 when he joined his father's weight loss campaign by taking training runs around the Geelong suburb of

Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...

. He joined Athletics Chilwell (formerly Chilwell Athletic Club) in 1986 and has competed for the club ever since. During a brief stint in the 1990s Lee competed on a second-claim basis for the cross country team from Ballarat Harriers in the Athletics Victoria winter competition series. He was mentored by

Steve Moneghetti Stephen James "Steve" Moneghetti, (born 26 September 1962), is an Australian long-distance runner and physical health consultant, represented Australia on many occasions. Moneghetti has a degree in civil engineering, a graduate diploma in educ ...

, the 1994 Commonwealth champion in the

World debut

In 1996, Troop won Victoria's regional

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

championship and first represented Australia at the

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. He finished sixth in the 5000 m and seventh in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. He competed in the 5000 m at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

but did not progress beyond the heats. He broke

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for ...

's 33-year-old national record in the 5000 m in 1999, but decided to focus on marathon running in the lead-up to the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. However, after qualifying, he tore a stomach muscle and struggled to finish in 66th place.

2004–2008 Olympics

For the next two years, Troop was troubled by a series of injuries but bounced back in 2003, enjoying his best ever form. He ran a personal best of 2:09:49 at

Lake Biwa Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-08 ...

, and finished 17th at the World Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He placed 27th at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in the marathon with a time of 2:18.46. He broke down shortly after with a stress fracture of the pelvis. In October 2007, Troop ran 2:10:31 at the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

– an Olympic A-grade qualifying time. In May 2008, Troop was the only nomination for the Australian Men's team in the marathon for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Troop said he wanted to emulate the feats of Australian marathon legends

Robert de Castella Francois Robert "Rob" de Castella (born 27 February 1957) is an Australian former world champion marathon runner. De Castella is widely known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs an ...

and his coach

in achieving a top 10 placing at the Olympic Games. In the 2008 Olympic marathon race he finished 60th in a time of 2:27:17. In October 2008, Lee announced that it was likely that he and his family would make a move to the United States no earlier than March 2009 with a desire to run in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

New York Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

s. In 2008, he finished fourth in the Melbourne Half Marathon and took part in the

Shanghai Marathon The Shanghai International Marathon is an annual marathon in late autumn hosted by Shanghai, China, since 1996. The marathon is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The marathon starts at the ''Bund Bull'' and finishe ...

. In April 2013, Lee finished 15th at Boston Marathon in 2:17:52 at 40 years old.

Boulder Track Club

Lee began coaching in Boulder in 2011 and now is responsible for elite runners like * Sean Quigley *

Laura Thweatt Laura Thweatt (born December 17, 1988) is an American long-distance runner. Early life, family and education Thweatt was born in Durango, Colorado. She began running competitively at Durango High School for which she placed 2nd at the 2006 ...

* Matt Tebo * 2020 Olympic Marathon qualifier Jake Riley

References

External links

*
Statistics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troop, Lee 1973 births Living people Australian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Geelong Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia