Derek James Clayton (born 17 November 1942) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

, born in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

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 ...

and raised in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. Clayton set a marathon world best in the

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on its ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

on 3 December 1967 in 2:09:36.4, in what is considered a classic race, the first marathon race ever run in less than two hours and ten minutes. He went on to break this time at the

Antwerp Marathon The Antwerp Marathon is an annual Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, AIMS-certified marathon hosted by Antwerp, Belgium, organised since 1980 and held in April (since 2007; before then in different months). At this event, t ...

on 30 May 1969 by more than a minute; this time stood as the world best for nearly another 12 years. His personal best time of 2:08:33.6 is still a world-class marathon time. Clayton represented Australia at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, finishing in 7th place (2:27:23). Four years later he finished in 13th place (2:19:49) in the same event. At the 1971

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

, he won the marathon in 2:11:08.8. Two years later, he won the Australian Athletics Championships marathon again in 2:12:07.6. Clayton was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

in 1999.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * *
A history of the Fukuoka International Marathon Championships

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Derek 1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Cumbria Australian male long-distance runners Australian male marathon runners Male marathon runners from Northern Ireland Male long-distance runners from Northern Ireland British male marathon runners British male long-distance runners Olympic male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games World record setters in athletics (track and field) Japan Championships in Athletics winners Australian Athletics Championships winners Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees