Ian Stewart

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(born 15 January 1949) is a Scottish former long-distance running athlete. Ian Stewart was one of the world's leading distance runners between the late 1960s and mid-1970s. Stewart won the bronze medal in the Men's 5000 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (a race won by Lasse Virén). Stewart also won the following championships:

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5,000 metres (1969), Commonwealth 5,000 metres (1970), European Indoor (1969 and 1975) and World Cross Country (1975). In 1965, at 16 years of age, he ran a British age best of 9.12.8 for 2 miles and two years later set a European junior 3 miles record of 13.39.8. In 1968, he broke European junior records at four distances: 3000m, 2 miles, 3 miles and 5000m. Moving up to the senior ranks in 1969, Stewart took the European Indoor 3000m title in a UK record (7.55.4), claiming the AAA 5000m title (13.39.66) and then winning 5000m gold at the

1969 European Athletics Championships The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

in Athens in a time of 13.44.8. In 1970, Stewart set a European record and world's season best time when he recorded 13:22:8 to win 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 ...

5,000 metres title. This was one of the greatest races of all time and he defeated current world record holder

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 fo ...

, Olympic 1,500 metres champion

Kip Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lo ...

and fellow Scot,

Ian McCafferty Ian John McCafferty (born 24 November 1944) is a Scottish former long-distance runner. He won the silver medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games 5000 metres when he recorded a time of 13:23.34. This was one of the greatest races of all ti ...

. Stewart produced a last lap of 54.4, Keino and Clarke could only finish 3rd and 5th, respectively. The 1971 campaign proved an anti-climax as illness and injuries halted his progress, he was back to full fitness in the Olympic year of 1972. In the Olympic 5000 metres final, he suffered from a collision with American

Steve Prefontaine Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, a ...

with 700 metres to go but produced an amazing burst in the home straight to gain the bronze medal (13.27.6), the Finn, Lasse Viren, took gold in 13.26.4. Stewart ran the home straight faster than even Virén. Stewart later blamed the clash with Prefontaine for costing him the gold. After a disappointing 1973 season and a mediocre effort in the Commonwealth Games 5000m final (5th in 13.40.4) in early 1974, he decided to take up cycle racing to recharge his batteries. Suitably refreshed, he returned to athletics in fine style the following year, completing an excellent double in March 1975 by winning the European indoor 3000m crown (7.58.6) and the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

gold medal. He remains Britain's last male winner of the cross country title and it proved to be his last major international honour. Stewart still produced some quality performances in later years, such as his 7th place in the 5000m final at the 1976 Olympics (losing to Virén by 2.89 seconds after dropping from second to seventh place in the last 300 metres. He ran a 10-mile world road best (45.13) in 1977. He retired in summer 1978, bringing down the curtain on a long and illustrious career. Stewart was ranked No 1 in the world over 5000m by the American magazine

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

in 1970. They ranked him third in 1969 and 1972, fifth in 1975, and tenth in 1976. He sometimes won races by using the unorthodox strategy of "kicking" or breaking far away from the field at the midpoint of the race (instead of on the last lap), leaving his rivals confused as to what to do. Stewart set other British records: 1,500 metres 3:39.12 (1969), 2,000 metres 5:02.98 (1975),2 miles 8:22.0 (1972). Other personal bests: Mile 3:57.3 (1969) and 10,000 metres 27:43.03 (1977). Stewart was one of six children – and three of them won European Indoor titles. His brother Peter Stewart (born 8 August 1947) was the 3000m champion in Sofia in 1971 and British record holder at the mile 3:55.3 (1972). His sister Mary (born 25 February 1956) won the 1500m in San Sebastian in 1977 and then became the Commonwealth Games champion in 1978 in Edmonton. Stewart was awarded the MBE in 1979, and after coaching and working to promote distance running, he succeeded Andy Norman as promotions officer 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 ...

in 1994. Stewart was the Head of Endurance of

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of 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 officials. The orga ...

(UKA) until February 2013."http://www.athleticsweekly.com/blog/tough-guy-stewart-will-be-missed/.

References

External links

sporting-heroes.net: Ian Stewart

Tough of the Track: The Ian Stewart Story – Full documentary on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ian 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands Members of the Order of the British Empire Scottish male long-distance runners British male cross country runners Scottish male cross country runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Scottish Olympic medallists