Max Robertson (athlete)

Max Robertson
Medal record
Men's athletics
Competitor for  England
Commonwealth Games
1986 Edinburgh 400 m hurdles

Maximilian Robertson (born 27 December 1963) is an English former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games and the 1992 Olympic Games. He also won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. He won five AAAs Championship titles and four UK Championship titles.

Career

Robertson was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. In 1985, he was the UK's second ranked 400 m hurdler behind Mark Holtom. He would go on to rank in the UK top three for eight consecutive seasons (1985-1992).[1] 1985 also saw him run under 50 seconds for the first time, his season's best was 49.75 in Brussels.

Having finished second to Ahmed Hamada of Burundi at the 1985 AAAs Championships, he won both the UK Championships and AAAs National Championships titles in 1986, running a personal best of 49.53 at the latter. At the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the silver medal in 49.77 behind Phil Beattie of Northern Ireland. In Stutgart, at the European Championships, he reached the semi-finals, running 50.06.

Robertson retained both the UK and AAAs titles in 1987. At the UK Championships, he tied with Kriss Akabusi in 49.56 in Akabusi's first season in the event. Then at the AAAs Championships he won in 49.51. At the World Championships in Rome he ran 49.73 to reach the semi-finals, where he was eliminated in 49.90.[2]

At the 1988 AAAs Championships, incorporating the Olympic trials, Robertson won his third title in 50.23, to earn Olympic Selection. At the Seoul Olympics he was eliminated in the heats with 50.67. In 1989, he won his third UK title and his fourth AAAs title.[3]

In 1990, Robertson reached his peak at the European Championships in Split, running his lifetime best of 49.25 in the semi-finals, to miss the final by just one-one hundredth of a second.[4] In 1991, he won his fourth UK title and fifth AAAs 400 m hurdles title in 49.97 but was forced out of the World Championships through injury.

Robertson concluded his international career in 1992 by earning Olympic selection for the second time. At the Barcelona Olympics, he failed to finish his qualifying heat.

Personal life

Robertson married Elaine Andrea Bellamy on 27 April 2002 at Queen Square in Bath. Their daughters, Clara Rose (born 11 February 1999) and Eleanor Jayne (born 16 October 2001), were bridesmaids.

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 2nd 49.77
European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 11th (sf) 50.06
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 15th (sf) 49.90 (49.73 in heat)
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 24th (h) 50.67
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 6th (sf) 49.25
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain heats DNF

(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf).

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/tp.gbrm.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.todor66.com/athletics/world/1987/Men_400m_Hurdles.html
  3. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/
  4. ↑ http://www.todor66.com/athletics/europe/1990/Men_400m_Hurdles.html

External links

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