Thomas McKean (born 27 October 1963) is a British 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 is a former

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

indoor

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 the ...

champion. Outdoors, McKean has medalled twice each at

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

level.

Athletics career

McKean was the winner of the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

800m gold medal at

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

in 1990.European Athletics – Event Result Database
McKean also won the 1990 European Indoor Championships final, the

1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 4th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from March 12 to March 14, 1993. It was the last Indoor Championships to feature the 5,000 and 3,000 metres race walk events. In addition, it ...

800 m final, and the World Cup 800m race in 1989. In addition, he came first in all European Cup races from 1985 to 1991. However, he failed to reach the

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 ...

final both in 1988, when he was disqualified for too much physical contact, and 1992. McKean, who was born in

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

, was one of the favourites for the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...

800 m. However, he caught the foot of Stephen Ole Marai in the final and suffered an injury which resulted in him finishing last. In first round qualifying for the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

800 m he slowed up too early before the line. He ended up third and failed to qualify. The two athletes ahead of him were eventual Gold and bronze medalists

Billy Konchellah Billy Komintai Konchellah (born 20 October 1961 in Kilgoris, Kenya) is a former 800 m runner who won two World Championship gold medals in Rome 1987 and Tokyo 1991. Career His victory in the 1991 final was unexpected. He sprinted past Paul Ereng ...

and Mark Everett. McKean also won a silver medal in the 1986 European Championships in Athletics 800m splitting British teammates

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...

and

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...

, an event memorably described by

Ian Wooldridge Ian Edmund Wooldridge, OBE (14 January 1932 – 4 March 2007) was a British sports journalist. He was with the '' Daily Mail'' for nearly 50 years. Biography Born in New Milton, Hampshire, Wooldridge left Brockenhurst Grammar School with two ...

as being "like three Spitfires coming out of the sun". He set his personal best in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1989 at 1:43.88 min. McKean represented Scotland in Commonwealth Games events. He picked up two silver medals. The second of those was in 1990 when he was part of the 4 × 400 m team for Scotland with

Brian Whittle Brian Ian Whittle (born 26 April 1964) is a Scottish politician and former athlete, who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region), South Scotland region since 2016 Scottish P ...

a teammate.

After athletics

As of July 2006, McKean was a

Strathclyde Police Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshir ...

constable.Frozen in time: 28 August 1986
/ref>

References

gbrathletics

External links

Tom McKean
at

''Sporting Hall of Fame'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McKean, Tom 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Bellshill Scottish male middle-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 Commonwealth Games silver 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 Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners