Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold	1960 Rome	1500 metres
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1958 Cardiff	880 yards
Gold	1958 Cardiff	1 mile

Herbert James "Herb" Elliott AC MBE (born 25 February 1938) is a former Australian athlete, one of the world's greatest middle distance runners. In August 1958 he set the world record in the mile, clocking 3:54.5, 2.7 seconds under the record held by Derek Ibbotson; later in the month he set the 1500 metres world record, running 3.36.0, 2.1 seconds under the record held by Stanislav Jungwirth. In the 1500 metres at the 1960 Rome Olympics, he won the gold medal and bettered his own world record with a time of 3:35.6.

Few people have ever exercised such absolute authority in any branch of sport as Elliott did in middle distance running from 1957 to 1961. During that span he never lost a 1500 metres or 1-mile race.^[1] During his career, he broke four minutes for the mile on 17 occasions.

Elliott is the chairman of one of the world´s largest iron ore mining companies, and of the Global Corporate Challenge health initiative.

Biography[link]

Elliott, a native of Perth, Western Australia, attended Aquinas College, in Perth. Aquinas College is renowned for its sport culture, and it was this culture that helped Elliott achieve such heights in athletics.^[2] He also attended Cambridge University.

He set a new world record for the mile on 6 August 1958 (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium in Dublin. Later that month he broke the 1500 metres world record in Gothenburg with a time of 3:36.0.

Commonwealth Games[link]

At the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, he won gold in the 880 yards and the mile. Two years later, at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Elliott won the gold medal in the 1500 metres, setting a new world record as well (3:35.6).

Elliott credited his visionary and iconoclastic coach, Percy Cerutty, with inspiration to train harder and more naturally than anyone of his era. Cerutty was known to avoid the track, talk about role models outside athletics (such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Jesus), and bring his athletes to the unspoiled seaside beauty of Portsea training camp south of Melbourne, where Elliott would sprint up sand dunes until he dropped. "Faster," Cerutty would say, "It's only pain."

University education[link]

After winning in Rome in 1960, he started a degree course at Cambridge University, England. He retired from athletics after running the half mile in the 1962 University v AAA match.^[3]

Business[link]

From May 2005, he served as Deputy Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, the world's fifth largest iron ore miner by capacity, and has been the non-executive chairman of the firm since March 2007.^[4][5] On 18 August 2011, Elliott is expected to step down as chairman to hand over the role to retiring chief executive Andrew Forrest but will stay on as deputy chairman.^[6] Earlier Elliott served as the CEO of Puma North America and between 2001 and 2006 as a board member at Ansell, one of the world's biggest condom makers.

Sydney Olympics[link]

He was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and entered the stadium for the final segment before the lighting of the Olympic Flame.

Herb Elliott has been ranked in Western Australia's 100 most influential people.

There is a biography covering his career, The Golden Mile (Cassell, 1961).

In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1964, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2002, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). The citation read: For service to community leadership through the development of sport in Australia, continuing involvement in the Olympic movement at national and international levels, and as a supporter and benefactor of community and charitable organisations for youth, health promotion and cultural understanding.

He is an Australian Living Treasure.

References[link]

Records
Preceded by Stanislav Jungwirth	Men's 1,500m World Record Holder 28 August 1958 – 8 July 1967	Succeeded by Jim Ryun
Preceded by Derek Ibbotson	Men's Mile World Record Holder 6 August 1958 – 27 January 1962	Succeeded by Peter Snell

Percy Wells Cerutty (born Prahran 10 January 1895 - died 14 August 1975 Portsea, Victoria) was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the 1950s and 1960s.

The eccentric Australian pioneered a home-spun system of 'Stotan' training, embracing a holistic regime of natural diets, hard training in natural surrounds, and mental stimulation.

Cerutty coached Herb Elliott to a series of world record performances, culminating in an Olympic gold medal in the 1960 Rome Games.

Early life[link]

Percy Cerutty was four years old when his mother left her alcoholic husband and struggled to raise her six surviving children in Melbourne.

In 1907, he left school to help support the family but was considered unfit to serve in World War I. He competed in athletics without distinction, suffering from illness after racing.

In 1939, following a nervous breakdown, Cerutty took leave to re-build his body, adopting a natural diet, studying philosophy and psychology, and resuming running and weightlifting.

After World War II, Cerutty began competing in distance running events, winning the Victorian State Marathon Championship before he retired from the track.^[1]

Stotan Philosophy[link]

Cerutty's 'Stotan' philosophies were a blend of Stoic and Spartan principles.

He introduced this approach to the athletes he trained at his Portsea, Victoria headquarters. Training would involve running in idyllic scenes, along the beach and up the dunes, mixing poetry and philosophy with athletics training.

Athletes training under Cerutty said "You came here with the object of running more quickly, and achieving the running, but really it was a education in life" and "You got a whole philosophy of life and attitudes" ^[2]

The new philosophy of life included the following tenets^[5]:

• Only consumption of whole wheat bread, as white flour was a poison.
• Moderate consumption of alcohol
• No consumption of cigarettes
• No consumption of water or drink with meals or following for a few hours
• No socializing after midnight

Between 1959 and 1967, Cerutty published six books on his training philosophies.

Cerutty maintained a great rivalry with fellow-coach Franz Stampfl whose Interval Training techniques were disliked by Cerutty.^[3]

Herb Elliott[link]

Cerutty's greatest successes came through Herb Elliott. Elliott won two gold medals at the 1958 Empire Games, and set world records at Mile (3:54.5) and 1500 metres (3:36.0) during the year.

At Rome in 1960, the 22 year-old Elliott set a world record to win the Olympic gold medal in the 1500 metres setting another world record of 3:35.6.^[4]

Other Athletes[link]

Further athletes trained or assisted by Cerutty included:

• John Landy - 1956 Olympic Bronze Medal 1500 metres - World Mile Record
• Betty Cuthbert - 1964 Olympic Gold Medal 400 metres - World 440 yards Record
• Middle-distance runners Dave Stephens and Les Perry

Cerutty also helped cyclist Russell Mockridge and boxer Jimmy Carruthers during their sporting careers.

Retirement[link]

Cerutty gave up coaching athletes in 1969 and continued to live at his beloved Portsea home - CERES.

Described as 'Australia’s most enigmatic, pioneering and controversial athletics coach', he died of motor neurone disease in 1975.^[5]

References[link]