Roger Anthony Black
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(born 31 March 1966) is a retired English
athlete who competed internationally for
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the
400 metres sprint at both the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
and
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, ...
, two individual gold medals at the
European Championships, and
4 × 400 metres relay
The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...
gold medals at both the World and European Championships.
Since retiring from athletics, he has worked as a
television presenter and motivational speaker. In 2008, Black joined forces with fellow athlete
Steve Backley
Stephen James Backley, OBE (born 12 February 1969) is a retired British track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a ...
and founded BackleyBlack LLP. Black has a collection of fifteen medals from major senior athletics competitions to add to his two
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an junior championship
gold medals.
Black won five national outdoor championships at 400 metres, and one at 200 metres. As of July 2022, Black remains ranked joint third in the all-time Great Britain lists for the 400 metres.
Early life
He was born in
Gosport,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, to David (a doctor) and Thelma, with a twin sister Julia. He attended
Alverstoke
Alverstoke is a small settlement which forms part of the borough of Gosport, on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It stretches east–west from Fort Blockhouse, Haslar to Browndown Battery, and is centred east of the shore of Stokes Bay and ...
Church of England Primary School and
Portsmouth Grammar School
The Portsmouth Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Portsmouth, England, located in the historic part of Portsmouth. It was founded in 1732 as a boys' school and is located on Portsmouth High Street.
History
In 1732, ...
, becoming Head Boy in 1983/84. It was whilst playing football with a local team (RPFC) that he began demonstrating his prowess as a runner, scoring numerous goals as a flying forward leaving many defenders in his wake. He then joined athletics clubs, re-took one of his A-level exams and began studying medicine at the
University of Southampton
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
, but he left his course after three months as he had begun to achieve success as an athlete.
Athletics career
Black rose to prominence in 1985 when he won the European Junior Championships 400 m in a time of 45.43 at the age of 19.
In 1986, Black graduated to the senior ranks and made a spectacular impact first winning at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 45.57, and then at the European Championships in Stuttgart, winning in a time of 44.59, his first British Record, breaking
Derek Redmond's 44.82 record from the previous year. Having also won golds in both 4 × 400 m relays at both of those events as well, Black's 1986 season had turned into a gold rush of four gold medals.
His next three seasons were wiped out through illness and injuries and he only just made the relay team for the 1987 World Championships in Rome, where the GB team won the silver medal. He returned to the track in 1990 and his good form took him to the European Championships again, which were held in Split. Black contested the 400 m final and retained his title with a time of 45.11, holding off his old rival
Thomas Schönlebe. He then anchored the GB team to an easy 4 × 400 m victory winning by a margin of 15 metres, and a European record of 2:58.23, with his split time of 43.9. He thus achieved a rare double-double – two gold medals at consecutive championships.
Black's outstanding 1990 season was followed by the 1991 World Championship season holding much expectation. His early season form at Crystal Palace saw him beat Olympic Champion
Steve Lewis and
Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew (November 3, 1967 – August 10, 2010) was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters.
Early life and career
Pettigrew was born in Macon, Georgia.
While attending St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North Ca ...
but only to lose to a new athlete called
Michael Johnson. Johnson would not contest the 400 m at the World Championships meaning the 400 m would be a contest between Black, Pettigrew and
Danny Everett
Danny Everett (born November 1, 1966) is an American former track and field athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the 400m at the 1988 Olympic Games and at the 1991 World Championship ...
as the main contenders.
Black finished second in the individual 400 m in Tokyo to Antonio Pettigrew. Black put in his effort on the third 100 m and entered the home straight two metres up on Pettigrew. He then tired and was caught on the line. Pettigrew's time was 44.57 and Black finished in 44.62. Everett also nearly caught Black on the line; his time was 44.63.
Pettigrew later admitted the use of performance-enhancing drugs from 1997 onwards in June 2008. No clear evidence has emerged, and Pettigrew never admitted anything further before his 2010
suicide, of him using performance-enhancing drugs during the 1991 season.
In the final event of the Tokyo Championships, the men's 4 x 400 relay was billed as a two-way contest between the Great Britain team and the United States team. In an unusual change of tactics, the GB team members decided to put Black on the opening leg, followed by Redmond, then
John Regis and, on anchor, the 400 m hurdler
Kriss Akabusi
Kezie Uchechukwu Duru Akabusi , MBE (born 28 November 1958), known as Kriss Akabusi, is a British former sprint and hurdling track and field athlete.
His first international successes were with the British 4×400 metres relay team, winning a ...
. Black later explained the tactics were to put him as first runner to give the team a lead or at least keep the team in close contention. Black's leg was 44.6 from a standing start. Redmond's leg was 44.1, though he conceded the lead to
Quincy Watts
Quincy D. Watts (born June 19, 1970) is an American former athlete, and two time gold medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Career
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Quincy Watts attended the University of Southern California (USC) where he excelled ...
. Regis followed Everett round the third lap, clocking 44.3. While Everett handed to Pettigrew with a two-metre lead, Regis handed to Akabusi. Akabusi sat in behind the World Champion Pettigrew for the first 200 m of the final lap, closed around the crown of the final bend and then the much improved Akabusi kicked past Pettigrew in the final 80 m to pull off a spectacular victory, winning in a time of 2:57.53 – a British and European record time.
Black set a new British Record of 44.37
seconds on 3 July 1996 in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
,
Switzerland. This was subsequently broken a year later by
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas (born 5 January 1974) is a Welsh sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is a former European, Commonwealth Games and Wo ...
who shaved 0.01s from Black's time. Fellow GB athlete
Mark Richardson also equalled Black's mark in 1998. As of July 2022, Black's time still stands as the third fastest of all time recorded by a British runner.
His greatest individual achievement in track and field was in the
1996 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, ...
in Atlanta when in the final of the 400 m he finished in second place behind
Michael Johnson, winning the silver medal in the process. However, partly due to injuries, he never rediscovered this form, and subsequently retired from the sport only two years later in 1998 after he was not selected for the 1998 European Championships.
Black was coached by Mike Smith and Mike Whittingham, and was sponsored by
Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
.
1997 World Championships
The World Championships' 4 × 400 m originally saw the USA beat Great Britain by 0.18 seconds in a thrilling finale. Subsequently, US athlete,
Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew (November 3, 1967 – August 10, 2010) was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters.
Early life and career
Pettigrew was born in Macon, Georgia.
While attending St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North Ca ...
admitted to using performance-enhancing substances during this period.
On 7 January 2010, it was announced that Great Britain's 1997 World Championship 4 × 400 m relay team are to be awarded the gold medal due to the disqualification of the USA team.
Black, running second leg, tied up and lost ground to his old rival Pettigrew but
Jamie Baulch
James Stephen Baulch (born 3 May 1973) is a retired Welsh sprint athlete and television presenter. He won the 400 metres gold medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. As a member of British 4 × 400 metres relay teams, he won a gold medal ...
and
Mark Richardson held second place round the last two laps. Great Britain's time of 2:56.65 was just outside the time they achieved in Atlanta the previous year.
Awards
Black was appointed
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 ...
(MBE) in the
1992 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...
for services to athletics. In 1995
Southampton University
, mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour
, type = Public research university
, established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
gave Black an
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
.
Television career
In 1998 Black appeared on the children's news programme ''
Newsround'' with fellow athlete
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas (born 5 January 1974) is a Welsh sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is a former European, Commonwealth Games and Wo ...
reporting on childhood obesity.
Black has worked regularly for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. In 2004 he was one of the celebrities that took part in the pro-am dancing contest ''
. In September 2006, he took part in
.
Black has written an autobiography, published by Andre Deutsch, entitled ''How Long's the Course?'',
Black is married to Julia Burgess, with whom he had twin boys George and Max in 2006. Black also has a daughter, Isabelle from his previous marriage to Elsa Devassoigne. Despite being born in Gosport, and attending the prestigious
In August 2014, Black was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
.
*** 400 metres gold medal – 45.36 seconds
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 3:07.18
* 1986
**
*** 400 m. gold medal – 45.57 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 3:07.19
**
, Germany
*** 400 m. gold medal – 44.59 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 2:59.84
* 1987
**
*** 4 x 400 m. relay silver medal
* 1990
**
*** 400 m. gold medal – 45.08 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 2:58.22
* 1991
**
*** 400 m. silver medal – 44.62 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 2:57.53
* 1992
**
*** 4 x 400 m. relay bronze medal – 2:59.73
* 1994
**
*** 400 m. silver medal – 45.2 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 2:59.13
* 1996
**
*** 400 m. silver medal – 44.41 sec.
*** 4 x 400 m. relay silver medal – 2:56.60
* 1997
**
*** 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal – 2:56.65