Elizabeth Nuttall (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and

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track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for 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 ra ...

at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. She was also a two-time gold medallist over the distance at the

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 ...

, as well as winning the 1992 World Half Marathon Championships, 1991

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, 1992

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and 1996

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. Her 10,000 metres best of 30:57.07 set in 1991, moved her to second on the world all-time list at that time and stood as the Scottish record until 2022, when it was broken by her daughter

Eilish McColgan Eilish McColgan (born 25 November 1990) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres champion with the Games record, and 5000 metres silver medallist. McColgan is a four-time European Champio ...

. Her marathon best of 2:26:52 in 1997, stood as the Scottish record until 2019.

Early life

Born Elizabeth Lynch, she grew up in the Whitfield area of Dundee and was a pupil of

St Saviour's RC High School St Saviour's RC High School was a state secondary school in Dundee, Scotland. It was a denominational school within the Catholic religious tradition, although it welcomed students from all religious backgrounds. The school closed in June 2008 a ...

. She joined her local athletics club, Hawkhill Harriers, aged 12 on the advice of her PE teacher Phil Kearns Coached by Harry Bennett, she soon discovered a talent for distance running and won her first UK titles aged 18. Following Bennett's death, McColgan coached herself in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986. From 1987 to 1989 McColgan was coached by John Anderson, including at the 1988 Olympics, after which she coached herself to the world 10,000m title and to wins in the London, New York and Tokyo marathons. She then met

Grete Waitz Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz wo ...

, who coached her from 1992 to her retirement in 1996.

Athletics career

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, as Liz Lynch, she took the gold medal in the

, finishing nearly 12 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor and giving the host country its only gold medal in athletics. Earlier that year, she had won the NCAA National Championship in the mile representing

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in the American collegiate Indoor Track and Field national championships. In 1987, she won a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw representing Scotland (Great Britain would not send a unified team to the World Cross until 1988). She finished behind Annette Sergent of France but ahead of

Ingrid Kristiansen Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...

. In September, she improved the UK 10,000m record to 31:19.82 while finishing fifth at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Rome, in a race won by Kristiansen. In 1988, now competing as Liz McColgan, she improved her own UK record with 31:06.99 in July to defeat Kristiansen in Oslo. Almost three months later, she ran 31:08.44 to win an Olympic silver medal in the inaugural women's 10,000 metres at the

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. She was defeated by the Soviet Union's Olga Bondarenko. McColgan won silver in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1989. In January 1990, she became the only Scot to successfully defend a Commonwealth title at the 1990 games in

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, when she again took the gold in the 10,000 metres, as well as bronze in the 3,000 metres. She missed the rest of the 1990 season due to pregnancy, giving birth to her daughter (future Olympic athlete) Eilish in November.

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dropped her the moment she told them she was pregnant. Just six weeks after her daughter Eilish was born, she contested an international 5 km race in Florida and won a bronze medal at the 1991 World Cross Country Championships. In June 1991, she ran her lifetime best for the 10,000 m with 30:57.07 in Hengelo, becoming only the third woman to run under 31 minutes, moving to second on the world all-time list behind Kristiansen and narrowly ahead of Bondarenko. This stood as the Scottish record until it was broken by Eilish in 2022.Eilish McColgan beats Letesenbet Gidey - and mother Liz's time - as she sets Scottish 10,000m best
BBC, 6 June 2022 In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at the

in Tokyo, Japan. In November of that year at the

, her first marathon, she won with a time of 2:27.23, breaking the record for a debut marathon by three minutes. In March 1992, McColgan struggled to a 41st-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in Boston. Then, in the summer, she finished fifth in the 10,000m final at the

Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In September, she won the inaugural

World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

, where she also helped the British team claim the silver medal in the team competition. Two months later, she won the

Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November. It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the Inte ...

. After more than two years struggling with injuries, McColgan finished fifth in the 1995 London Marathon and sixth in the 10,000m final at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In 1996, she won the

in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds, before finishing 16th in the marathon at the

Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. She finished second in the London Marathons of 1997 and 1998, running her career-best time of 2:26:52 in 1997. She gave her medal to a youngster in the crowd after the 1997 event. McColgan retired from competing in August 2001 when she fractured a bone in her foot while training for selection for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. However, she returned in 2004 to win the Scottish Indoor Championships 3000 metres (in 9:31). In 2007, she ran the London Marathon, finishing 25th in 2:50:38. She also completed the 2010 New York Marathon in 3:10:54. In 2017, she completed the inaugural Stirling Scottish Marathon in 3:18:32.

Personal life

In 1987 she married Northern Irish athlete Peter McColgan; they had five children together - Eilish, Martin, Eamonn, Kieran and Orla. The couple separated in November 2010 and finalised their divorce in March 2013. On 18 January 2014, McColgan married John Nuttall, a coach who has worked as head of endurance coaching for

British Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

and now coaches in

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, in the process becoming step-mother to Nuttall's son, para-athlete Luke Nuttall. McColgan's eldest daughter, Eilish, is also a distance runner. Eilish broke her mother's Scottish 10,000 metre record in 2022, and emulated her mother by winning the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Awards

In December 1991, McColgan appeared on '' This Is Your Life'' and was voted

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been ...

. She was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to athletics in 1992United Kingdom list: and inducted to the

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame of Scotland, set up in 2002. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and National Museums Scotland. It is also funded ...

in 2004.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McColgan, Liz 1964 births Living people Scottish people of Irish descent Sportspeople from Dundee British female long-distance runners Scottish female marathon runners Scottish female long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Scottish Olympic medallists Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners New York City Marathon female winners London Marathon female winners BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St Saviour's Roman Catholic High School Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races Best Marathon Runner Award World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Scottish women 21st-century Scottish women