Liz McColgan - Athletics Career

Athletics Career

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, McColgan took the gold medal in the 10,000 metres, finishing nearly 12 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor and giving the host country its only gold medal in Athletics. This was followed by a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

McColgan was the 1986 NCAA National Champion in the mile run representing the Alabama Crimson Tide in the American collegiate Indoor Track and Field national Championships and was the school's record-holder for the mile run. McColgan won silver in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1989. She became the only Scot to successfully defended a Commonwealth title at the 1990 games in Aukland, New Zealand, when she took the gold for the 10,000 metres again, as well as taking bronze at the 3,000 metres. In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In November of that year at the New York City Marathon, her first marathon, she won with a time of 2:27.23, beating the record for a debut marathon by three minutes.

In 1992, McColgan won the inaugural World Half Marathon Championships, where she also helped the British team claim the silver medal in the team competition. Later that year, she won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon. In 1996, McColgan won the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds.