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Scotland |
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Scotland |
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Scotland |
Liz McColgan (nee Lynch) was a talented youngster, regularly battling with her great rival Yvonne Murray in cross-country events but McColgan’s career began to blossom when she was offered a sports scholarship to Idaho University, before transferring to Alabama University, where she won a prestigious NCAA title but her indoor title in 1986 was her last, as she was barred from competition due to unintentionally breaching prize-money laws.
However, McColgan quickly made an impression on the international circuit, winning the Commonwealth 10000m title in front of her homecrowd in Edinburgh, defeating New Zealand’s Anne Audain in a tremendous race. One month later, McColgan attempted an ambitious 3000/10000m double at the European Championships in Stuttgart. Liz was 12th in the 3000m (9:02.42 and 8:58.85 in the heats) and 7th in the 10000m (31:49.46), where she was lapped by eventual champion Ingrid Kristiansen but this was only a tiny footnote in a prolific career.
Six months later, McColgan won a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw, in one of the greatest fields ever assembled for a cross-country race. McColgan succumbed to defeat to the hands of Annette Sergent but gained the satisfaction of defeating Kristiansen into the bronze medal position, as well as finishing ahead of luminaries including her nemesis on the track, Olga Bondarenko.
McColgan had a good Grand Prix campaign but at the World Championships, McColgan finished just outside the medals. Liz allowed Kristiansen to make an early break and could not bridge the lead of the Norwegian and acted as a pacemaker for the second group. Heartbreakingly for Liz, she was outsprinted on the last lap by the Soviet Olga Zhupieva and East Germany’s Katrin Ullrich.
McColgan improved her British and Commonwealth record to 31:06.99 at the Bislett Games in July 1988 and at the Olympic Games, Liz won a hard fought silver medal in Seoul. In a dramatic race, Kristiansen dropped out at 3km with a foot injury when she was in the lead and a similar scenario unravelled, as McColgan led the chasing group comprised of Bondarenko and Zhupieva, before catching Ullrich after 5km. McColgan continued to lead and successfully dropped Ullrich and Zhupieva but Liz could not shake off the persistent figure of the tiny Bondarenko. The Soviet attacked with 200m remaining and McColgan had to settle for a silver medal behind the diminutive Russian, whose gutsy break proved to be decisive.
In 1989, McColgan won silver at the World Indoor Championships behind Elly van Hulst, before setting a 10km world record of 30:38 in Orlando just one week later.
In 1990, McColgan defended her Commonwealth 10000m title, as well as taking 3000m bronze, but soon after this triumph, Liz chose to abandon the rest of the year to start a family but returned with a vengeance in the 1991 campaign. Just weeks after giving birth, McColgan won bronze at the World Cross Country Championships in Antwerp and broke the 31-minute barrier for the first time over 10000m in June, running 30:57.07 in Hengelo, as well as setting a 3000m PB in Nice. McColgan started as the pre-race favourite for the World Championships in Tokyo and Liz had prepared meticulously by training in humid conditions in Florida. After running the heats in flats, McColgan made her intentions clear in the final by leading from the gun, churning out consecutive laps of 74/75-seconds, which dropped everyone by 7km expect for Ethiopia’s Derartu Tulu but soon after, Tulu was broken and McColgan was in the clear at 8km. McColgan crossed the line for the gold medal, setting a winning time of 31:14.31, defeating China’s Zhong Huandi by more than 100m.
Two months later, Liz won her debut marathon in New York, setting the world’s fastest debut of 2:27:32.
However, McColgan could not reproduce the same form in 1992. A cold affected her chances at the World Cross Country Championships in Boston and her form on the track was not as superior as it had been prior to the Olympic Games but many considered her as one of the favourites for the gold medal in Barcelona. In the Olympic final, Liz adopted identical tactics to Tokyo but at halfway, a large group sat comfortably in the slipstream of McColgan and by 6km, Liz could not strike when South Africa’s Elena Meyer made her break. Tulu followed and McColgan led the chasing group, as the Africans stretched their lead to 100m.
A last lap of 64-seconds gave Tulu Ethiopia’s first gold medal from a woman ahead of Meyer, whilst America’s Lynn Jennings came through for the bronze medal. Zhong was fourth and McColgan, who had led for so long, finished out of the medals in fifth, but returned in November to win the Tokyo Marathon.
McColgan was then third in the Flora London Marathon in 1993 but missed most of the following seasons due to persistent back, foot and knee injuries but returned in 1995 with reasonable success, placing sixth at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg.
In 1996, McColgan won the Flora London Marathon in stifling conditions, clocking 2:27:54 but her build-up to the Atlanta Olympic Games was ruined at the very last minute, when an insect bite caused an infection. McColgan had to take antibiotics but Liz could not compete to her normal standards, finishing 16th in 2:34:40 and she was never with the pace in that race.
McColgan set her marathon PB of 2:26:52 at the 1997 Flora London Marathon but in a great race, Liz was pipped on the line by Kenya’s Joyce Chepchumba.
The following season, Liz was the runner-up in London again and only two-seconds shy of her lifetime best but McColgan could not find her best form, as persistent injury problems left her sidelined.
After attempting to return, McColgan reluctantly hung up her spikes in 2001, as specialists warned that Liz could become crippled, which would have been exacerbated because of a plethora of foot injuries, including five stress fractures to her foot in her final season of competition.
Off the track, Liz married international steeplechaser Peter McColgan in October 1987 and have five children and Liz’s first child, Eilish in 1990, is a promising junior athlete.
McColgan was also rewarded an MBE in 1992 for her services in sport and despite her retirement, McColgan is involved in coaching some of Scotland’s most promising athletes in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games and 2014 Commonwealth Games. |
| 2007 V40 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10K | 37:11 | | | | | | 1 | | Glasgow | Norwich Union City vs City 10K | 3 Jun 07 | | HM | 80:15 | | | | 148 | | 20 | 2 | Newcastle-South Shields | BUPA Great North Run | 30 Sep 07 | | HM | 84:45 | | | | | | 1 | | Dundee | Dundee City Half Marathon | 1 Jul 07 | | Mar | 2:50:38 | | | | 400 | | 25 | 1 | London | Flora London Marathon | 22 Apr 07 | | 2006 V40 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | HM | 84:53 | | | | 32 | | | | South Shields | Great North Run | 1 Oct 06 | | 2005 V40 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10K | 37:10 | | | | 1 | | | | Strabane | STRABANE 10km | 23 Jul 05 | | 2004 V35-V40 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 3000 | 9:31.11 | i | | | 1 | | | | Glasgow | DM HALL SCOTTISH SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Kelvin Hall, Glasgow | 15 Feb 04 | | 10K | 42:00 | | | | 3 | | | | Balmoral | GREAT CALEDONIAN RUN | 8 May 04 | | 2003 V35 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10M | 56:12 | | | | | | 4 | 1 | Portsmouth | Great South Run | 12 Oct 03 | | 1998 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 5M | 25:25 | | | | 2 | | | | Balmoral | Compaq | 11 Apr 98 | | HM | 69:50 | | | | 5 | | | | Lisbon, POR | - | 15 Mar 98 | | Mar | 2:26:54 | | | | 2 | | | | London | London Marathon | 26 Apr 98 | | 1997 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10M | 52:00 | | | | 1 | | | | Portsmouth | GSR | 5 Oct 97 | | HM | 70:08 | | | | 3 | | | | Newcastle-South Shields | GNR/BAF | 14 Sep 97 | | HM | 70:16 | | | | 3 | | | | Lisbon, POR | - | 9 Mar 97 | | Mar | 2:26:52 | | | | 2 | | | | London | Flora London Marathon | 13 Apr 97 | | 1996 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 5K | 15:18 | | | | 3 | | | | Portsmouth | BUPA | 13 Apr 96 | | Mar | 2:27:54 | | | | 1 | | | | London | AAA/BAF | 21 Apr 96 | | Mar | 2:30:50 | | | | 3 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | - | 17 Nov 96 | | 1995 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 5000 | 14:59.56 | | | | 3 | | | | Hechtel, BEL | NvdA | 22 Jul 95 | | 10000 | 31:40.14 | | | | 6 | | | | Gothenburg, SWE | WC | 9 Aug 95 | | HM | 69:49 | | | | 3 | | | | Lisbon, POR | - | 12 Mar 95 | | Mar | 2:30:32 | | | | 7 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | - | 19 Nov 95 | | Mar | 2:31:14 | | | | | | 5 | | London | London Marathon | 2 Apr 95 | | 1993 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10K | 31:19 | | | | 1 | | | | Forfar | - | 4 Apr 93 | | Mar | 2:29:37 | | | | 3 | | | | London | London Marathon | 18 Apr 93 | | 1992 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 3000 | 8:43.34 | i | | | 1 | | | | Birmingham | vUSA | 14 Mar 92 | | 5000 | 15:03.17 | i | | | 1 | | | | Birmingham | AAAs Junior Championship | 22 Feb 92 | | 10000 | 31:26.11 | | | | 5 | | | | Barcelona, ESP | OG | 7 Aug 92 | | 8K | 24:48 | | | | 1 | | | | Washington DC, USA | Nike | 10 May 92 | | 10M | 52:14 | | | | 1 | | | | Sandiacre | Erewash | 6 Sep 92 | | 20KSPLIT | 65:22 | + | | | m | | | | Newcastle-South Shields | GNR/WC-HM | 20 Sep 92 | | 20KSPLIT | 67:11 | <+ | | | 1 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | HM | 26 Jan 92 | | HM | 67:11 | | | | 1 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | - | 26 Jan 92 | | HM | 68:42 | | | | 1 | | | | Dundee | - | 11 Oct 92 | | HM | 68:53 | | | | 1 | | | | Newcastle-South Shields | GNR/WC | 20 Sep 92 | | 25KSPLIT | 1:25:45 | + | | | m | | | | Tokyo, JPN | mar | 15 Nov 92 | | 30KSPLIT | 1:43:18 | + | | | m | | | | Tokyo, JPN | mar | 15 Nov 92 | | 20MSPLIT | 1:51:27 | +e | | | m | | | | Tokyo, JPN | mar | 15 Nov 92 | | Mar | 2:27:38 | | | | 1 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | - | 15 Nov 92 | | 1991 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 3000 | 8:38.23 | | | | 1 | | | | Nice, FRA | Nik/GP | 15 Jul 91 | | 10000 | 30:57.07 | | | | 1 | | | | Hengelo, NED | APM | 25 Jun 91 | | 10000 | 31:14.31 | | | | 1 | | | | Tokyo, JPN | WC | 30 Aug 91 | | 10000 | 31:54.67 | | | | 3 | h2 | | | Tokyo, JPN | WC | 27 Aug 91 | | 5K | 14:57 | | | | 1 | | | | Chicago IL, USA | - | 27 Oct 91 | | 5K | 15:11 | | | | 1 | | | | Carlsbad CA, USA | - | 14 Apr 91 | | HM | 69:15 | | | | 2 | | | | Exeter | GWR | 5 May 91 | | 20MSPLIT | 1:53:01 | + | | | m | | | | New York NY, USA | mar | 3 Nov 91 | | Mar | 2:27:32 | | | | 1 | | | | New York NY, USA | - | 3 Nov 91 | | 1989 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 1500 | 4:10.16 | i | | | 6 | | | | Budapest, HUN | WI | 4 Mar 89 | | 2000 | 5:46.29 | i+ | | | m | | | | Budapest, HUN | WI-3000 | 4 Mar 89 | | 3000 | 8:34.80 | i | | | 2 | | | | Budapest, HUN | WI | 4 Mar 89 | | 10K | 30:39 | | | | 1 | | | | Orlando FL, USA | RLob | 11 Mar 89 | | 1988 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 10000 | 31:06.99 | | | | 1 | | | | Oslo, NOR | Bisl/GP | 2 Jul 88 | | 10000 | 31:08.44 | | | | 2 | | | | Seoul, KOR | OG | 30 Sep 88 | | 10K | 30:59 | | | | 1 | | | | Orlando FL, USA | RLob | 6 Feb 88 | | 15K | 47:43 | | | | 1 | | | | Tampa FL, USA | Gasp | 13 Feb 88 | | 1987 SEN Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | 1000 | 2:41.8 | e+ | | | m | | | | Oslo, NOR | Bisl/GP-1500 | 4 Jul 87 | | 1500 | 4:01.38 | | | | 3 | | | | Oslo, NOR | Bisl/GP | 4 Jul 87 | | Mile | 4:26.11 | | | | 2 | | | | Crystal Palace | PTG/GP | 10 Jul 87 | | 2000 | 5:40.24 | | | | 1 | | | | Crystal Palace | DCrest | 22 Aug 87 | | 5000 | 15:01.08 | | | | 1 | | | | Oslo, NOR | NorG | 5 Aug 87 | | 10000 | 31:19.82 | | | | 5 | | | | Rome, ITA | WC | 4 Sep 87 | | 10K | 31:07 | | | | 1 | | | | Orlando FL, USA | RLob | 21 Feb 87 | | 10K | 31:13 | | | | 1 | | | | Davenport IA, USA | - | 10 Oct 87 | | 10K | 31:27 | | | | 1 | | | | Dundee | - | 12 Apr 87 | | 12K | 39:20 | | | | 1 | | | | Irving TX, USA | StPaul | 17 Oct 87 | | 1986 U23 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | SHORT3000 | 9:05.64 | i | | | 2 | | | | Oklahoma City OK, USA | NCAA | 15 Mar 86 | | 1500 | 4:13.13 | | | | 2 | | | | Edinburgh | Sco | 14 Jun 86 | | Mile | 4:35.06 | i | | | 1 | | | | Baton Rouge LA, USA | SEC | 2 Mar 86 | | 2000 | 5:43.40 | | | | 3 | | | | Gateshead | vCom | 5 Aug 86 | | 3000 | 8:46.53 | | | | 1 | | | | Birmingham | Pearl | 18 Jul 86 | | 3000 | 9:15.91 | i | | | 1 | | | | Bloomington IN, USA | - | 1 Feb 86 | | 2Miles | 9:50.85 | i | | | 1 | | | | Baton Rouge LA, USA | SEC | 1 Mar 86 | | 5000 | 15:41.58 | + | | | m | | | | Stuttgart, GER | EC-10k | 30 Aug 86 | | 10000 | 31:41.42 | | | | 1 | | | | Edinburgh | CG | 28 Jul 86 | | 10000 | 31:49.46 | | | | 7 | | | | Stuttgart, GER | EC | 30 Aug 86 | | 10000 | 32:59.59 | | | | 1 | | | | Cwmbran | UK | 26 May 86 | | 10K | 32:24 | | | | 1 | | | | Mobile AL, USA | Azalea | 8 Mar 86 | | HM | 70:59 | | | | 1 | | | | Dundee | - | 12 Oct 86 | | 1985 U23 Dundee Hawkhill | | Event | Perf | | | | Pos | | | | Venue | Meeting | Date | | Mile | 4:33.91 | | | | 7 | | | | Edinburgh | EdinG | 23 Jul 85 | | 15K | 52:29 | | | | 19 | | | | Tampa FL, USA | Gasp | 9 Feb 85 |
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