Brian Whittle

Brian Whittle (born 26 April 1964) is a British athlete who won the gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at both the 1986 European Athletics Championships and 1994 European Athletics Championships. He also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He is famed for running the third leg of the 1986 European Championships final with one shoe.

Early life

Brian was born in 1964 growing up in the Scottish town of Troon. His father was a sprinter and ran until his late teens but other than that his family background was not overly sporty. As a boy, Brian tried a wide range of sports, enjoying many of them. He has maintained that his talent lay in his ability to train.

Senior career

At club level Whittle ran for both Ayr Seaforth and Enfield & Haringey. His best performance in the 400 m was 45.22 at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He finished 1st in his heat, 3rd in the quarter final but did not progress past the semi-final. He ran 45.5 on the first leg of the 4 × 400 m relay (team - Whittle, Kriss Akabusi, Todd Bennett, Phil Brown) but for once the GB team performed below par and finished fifth in the Olympic final. Perhaps his greatest achievement, and what he is best remembered for, is the manner he which he helped Great Britain win the Gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. He ran the third leg of the race with one shoe running a personal best leg time of 45.09. As he took the baton from Kriss Akabusi, Akabusi stood on his shoe and it ripped off, leaving him to run the race without it. The other members of the team were Roger Black and Derek Redmond, all of whom ran Personal Best times on the day.

European Athletic Association

The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). European Athletics has 51 members and is headquartered in Lausanne. Svein Arne Hansen is its current president.

Originally created in 1932 as a European Committee, it was made into an independent body during the Bucharest conference of 1969. The first European Athletics congress took place in Paris on 6–8 October 1970, with Dutchman Adriaan Paulen elected as its first president. From a volunteer-led organization based in the acting Secretary's home country, European Athletics has developed into a professional organization with a permanent base in Switzerland.

European Athletics runs and regulates several championships and meetings across Europe - both indoor and outdoor.

History

After the foundation of the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) in 1912, it was clear there needed to be a European committee as part of the governing board. While the idea originally met with some resistance, it was the active promotion by the Hungarian representative Szilard Stankovits that bought the initiative to life following the Los Angeles congress of the IAAF in 1932. Following this meeting, the Council officially designated a European Commission (chaired by Stankovits) with the task of reviewing the conditions for the organisation of the European Athletics Championships.

European Athletics Championships

The European Athletics Championships is a biennial athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association. First held in 1934 in Turin, the Championships have taken place every four years, with a few exceptions. Since 2010, they have been organised every two years, and when they coincide with the Summer Olympics, the marathon and racewalking events are not contested.

Editions

All-time medal table (1934–2014)

See also

References

External links