Mark Rowland

Mark Rowland
Personal information
Born (1963-03-07) 7 March 1963

Mark Robert Rowland (born 7 March 1963 in Watersfield, West Sussex, England) is a retired British track and field athlete, who was a bronze medallist at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

Rowland came third in the men's men's 3000 m Steeplechase behind the Kenyan competitors Julius Kariuki (gold) and Peter Koech (silver). His time was 8:07.96 minutes which remains a British record.

Rowland became the eighth and, thus far, final British athlete to pick up a medal in the steeplechase event at the Olympics. His post-race interview at the track-side was famous for his quote:

I just kept telling myself to dig, dig, dig—and I did it! I've got a bloody medal![1]

Two years later, Rowland was beaten to the gold in a sprint finish in the same event at the European Championships in Split by the Italian athlete Francesco Panetta.

Rowland's career didn't hit such heights again and, after retiring, he became a coach to many promising young British steeplechasers and was steeplechase and middle-distance coach for UK Athletics.

He is now training athletes, including British middle-distance runner Jemma Simpson and American Lauren Fleshman in the USA for the Oregon Track Club Elite.[2]

He also coached Mike East, British 1500m runner to his 6th place at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
1987 World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States 4th 3000 m 8:04.27
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 3rd 3000 m steeplechase 8:07.96
1990 Comonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 7th 5000 m 13:35.69
European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 2nd 3000 m steeplechase 8:13.27
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th 3000 m steeplechase 8:26.00

References

  1. http://blog.strava.com/wow-the-rowlandtempo-9552/
  2. Laggner, Kyle (December 15, 2008). "Former Olympian to coach Oregon Track Club Elite". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
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