Ian John McCafferty (born 24 November 1944) is a Scottish former

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 exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. He won the silver medal at the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

and competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Biography

McCafferty finished second behind Australian

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Member of the Order of the British Empire, 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 o ...

and Hungarian Lajos Mecser in the 3 miles event at the 1967 AAA Championships and by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete was considered the British 3 miles champion. The U.S. magazine

Track & 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 (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

' annual world rankings ranked McCafferty fifth at 5000 metres in 1967. McCafferty became the third fastest British miler of all time in 1969. The following year he represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in his home county. He recorded a time of 13:23.34 for the 5000 metres, which was cosidered one of the all time great races. Reigning European 5000 metres champion Ian Stewart set a new European record and the two Scots, moved up to second and third on the world all-time list. In the race McCafferty defeated the current world record holder Ron Clarke, and Olympic 1,500 metres champion Kip Keino. McCafferty also finished sixth in the Commonwealth 1,500 metres in a time of 3:42.2. McCafferty was Scottish 5000 metres champion in 1971, and was also three times the Scottish champion in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

. He also won the

AAA Indoor Championships The AAA Indoor Championships was an annual indoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost indoor domestic athletics event during its lifetime. The event was first held in 1935, fo ...

on three occasions for

two miles The 2 mile (3,520 yards, 10,560 feet, or exactly 3,218.688 metres) is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the United States and United Ki ...

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

. He won the Junior race at the 1964 International Cross Country Championships. He represented Great Britain at the

1972 Munich Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. Competing over the 5000 m, he finished in 11th place with a time of 13:43.2 minutes. He was quicker in the heats, having won that race in a time of 13:38.2. McCafferty was so disappointed that he never raced again as an amateur. McCafferty was also the first Scot to break the four-minute mile. At the end of 1972 he was fifth on the world all-time list for 5000 metres.Watman, Mel (1981): Encyclopedia of Track and Field Athletics

Personal bests

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

– 3:56.8 min (1969) *

indoors – 7:56.2 min (1967) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 13:19.66 min (1972)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCafferty, Ian 1944 births Living people Scottish male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics