Gordon Pirie
Encyclopedia
Douglas Alistair Gordon Pirie (February 10, 1931 – December 7, 1991) was an English
long-distance runner and orienteerer.
He was born in Leeds
, West Riding of Yorkshire
, England
and died of stomach cancer in Lymington
, Hampshire
.
In 1955 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
award. He won silver in the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 5000 metres. Gordon Pirie broke 5 world records in the course of his career, his annus mirabilis
being 1956, when on June 19 in Bergen, Norway, he ran 13:36.8 for 5000 m, beating Vladimir Kuts
(USSR), and knocking 25 seconds from his own personal best. On June 22 in Trondheim, Norway, he equalled the world 3000 metres record with 7:55.6, and on 14 September, in Malmö, Sweden, he set up a new record with 7:52.7. He ran one sub-4 minute mile clocking 3:59.9 and, on hearing the result, shouted out 'I've done, I've done it!'.
In the Olympics, held in Melbourne later that year, Pirie was unlucky. He ran against Kuts in the 10,000 metres and despite the tactics of Kuts, an aggressive front runner whose bursts of speed were particularly damaging to a long-striding runner like Pirie, he stayed with him into the last mile when every other competitor had dropped well back. Kuts then surrendered the lead for a short while, then made a last, despairing sprint which Pirie could not match and he dropped back. Kuts said later that if Pirie had stayed with him on that last sprint he would have dropped out of the race.
In the 5,000 metres Pirie took second place behind Kuts and probably should have won. Chataway, one of the other British runners, had been selected on past performance. He had not competed at top level for over a year as he was pursuing a media career as a lead-in to what was to be a career in politics. With Pirie and Ibbotson, the third British runner, he was tracking Kuts and had moved ahead of them was they went into a bend. The Soviet sportsman was setting a much faster pace than Chataway had ever run and he suffered an attack of stomach cramp which caused him to slow down and as Pirie and Ibbotson came out of the bend they found that Kuts had opened a gap on them. Pirie and Ibbotson ran round Chataway but Kuts was able to exploit his advantage and won the race. For the latter half of the race Pirie was running what was virtually a front race, as Kuts had broken contact, but he was still strong enough to hold off a late challenge by Ibbotson. After the race, Ibbotson commented that, "You can't have a plan with a bloke like Chataway - he wants to do all the running", obviously feeling that if Chataway had stayed behind him and Pirie, they would have kept in contact with Kuts and probably beaten him, as they both had superior finishing speed.
Pirie was also unlucky at the Rome Olympics in 1960. The Games were held in the height of the Roman summer and Pirie and other leading UK contestants asked to go on ahead of the main party, at their own expense, so that they might be acclimatised to the heat. They were refused permission, on the grounds that "we travel as a team". It meant that they failed as a team. Pirie and his fellow 5,000 metres contestants were eliminated in the heats, leaving Pirie's only chance of a gold medal the 10,000 metres held later in the games. Pirie made the mistake of following the favourite, Murray Halberg of New Zealand. Halberg had won his major championships by making a tactical burst in the last mile of the race and holding onto the lead that he had taken - he had won the 5,000 metres at Rome by that tactic and Pirie's plan was to stay with him as he went forward. Unfortunately for Pirie, Halberg was probably suffering from his effort in the earlier race and as the race went on he failed to stay with the leaders. Pirie, far too late, realised that he and Halberg had lost contact with them. Pirie, a master tactician who completely out-generalled Kuts in their race in June 1956, must have lost his nerve to have made such an effort, probably because he knew that the 10,000 metres was his last chance of an Olympic gold.
For some years, after he had criticised them, sections of the press had run a campaign against Pirie and they fully vented their spite after the Olympics. However, in a radio interview soon after the games, the great Australian runner Herb Elliott, referred to Pirie and Ibbotson who, having broken the world record for the mile in 1957, had never regained the same form and was not selected for Rome. Elliott said, "The British Press is the most vicious in the world. Their attitude to people like Pirie and Ibbotson is 'That bloke's on his way down, I'm going to kick him down and keep him there.'"
Gordon Pirie was an exceptional cross-country runner and won the English Championship three times.
«Guinness Book of Records 1998» lists Gordon Pirie under the «Greatest Mileage» entry, stating that he had run a total distance of 347600 km (215,989.2 mi) in 40 years to 1981.
He also describes his collaboration with Adolf Dassler
on designing running shoes with stronger toes (instead of the usual design with stronger heels) for better durability with his advocated running style.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
long-distance runner and orienteerer.
He was born in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and died of stomach cancer in Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
In 1955 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year
BBC Sports Personality of the Year
The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of one titular award. Several new awards have been introduced, and , eight awards are presented. The oldest of these are the Team of the Year and...
award. He won silver in the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 5000 metres. Gordon Pirie broke 5 world records in the course of his career, his annus mirabilis
Annus mirabilis
Annus mirabilis is a Latin phrase meaning "wonderful year" or "year of wonders" . It was used originally to refer to the year 1666, but is today also used to refer to different years with events of major importance...
being 1956, when on June 19 in Bergen, Norway, he ran 13:36.8 for 5000 m, beating Vladimir Kuts
Vladimir Kuts
Vladimir Petrovich Kuts was a Soviet long distance runner. He is alternatively known as Volodymyr Kuts, the Ukrainian spelling, as Kuts was born in Aleksino, which is in present-day Ukraine....
(USSR), and knocking 25 seconds from his own personal best. On June 22 in Trondheim, Norway, he equalled the world 3000 metres record with 7:55.6, and on 14 September, in Malmö, Sweden, he set up a new record with 7:52.7. He ran one sub-4 minute mile clocking 3:59.9 and, on hearing the result, shouted out 'I've done, I've done it!'.
In the Olympics, held in Melbourne later that year, Pirie was unlucky. He ran against Kuts in the 10,000 metres and despite the tactics of Kuts, an aggressive front runner whose bursts of speed were particularly damaging to a long-striding runner like Pirie, he stayed with him into the last mile when every other competitor had dropped well back. Kuts then surrendered the lead for a short while, then made a last, despairing sprint which Pirie could not match and he dropped back. Kuts said later that if Pirie had stayed with him on that last sprint he would have dropped out of the race.
In the 5,000 metres Pirie took second place behind Kuts and probably should have won. Chataway, one of the other British runners, had been selected on past performance. He had not competed at top level for over a year as he was pursuing a media career as a lead-in to what was to be a career in politics. With Pirie and Ibbotson, the third British runner, he was tracking Kuts and had moved ahead of them was they went into a bend. The Soviet sportsman was setting a much faster pace than Chataway had ever run and he suffered an attack of stomach cramp which caused him to slow down and as Pirie and Ibbotson came out of the bend they found that Kuts had opened a gap on them. Pirie and Ibbotson ran round Chataway but Kuts was able to exploit his advantage and won the race. For the latter half of the race Pirie was running what was virtually a front race, as Kuts had broken contact, but he was still strong enough to hold off a late challenge by Ibbotson. After the race, Ibbotson commented that, "You can't have a plan with a bloke like Chataway - he wants to do all the running", obviously feeling that if Chataway had stayed behind him and Pirie, they would have kept in contact with Kuts and probably beaten him, as they both had superior finishing speed.
Pirie was also unlucky at the Rome Olympics in 1960. The Games were held in the height of the Roman summer and Pirie and other leading UK contestants asked to go on ahead of the main party, at their own expense, so that they might be acclimatised to the heat. They were refused permission, on the grounds that "we travel as a team". It meant that they failed as a team. Pirie and his fellow 5,000 metres contestants were eliminated in the heats, leaving Pirie's only chance of a gold medal the 10,000 metres held later in the games. Pirie made the mistake of following the favourite, Murray Halberg of New Zealand. Halberg had won his major championships by making a tactical burst in the last mile of the race and holding onto the lead that he had taken - he had won the 5,000 metres at Rome by that tactic and Pirie's plan was to stay with him as he went forward. Unfortunately for Pirie, Halberg was probably suffering from his effort in the earlier race and as the race went on he failed to stay with the leaders. Pirie, far too late, realised that he and Halberg had lost contact with them. Pirie, a master tactician who completely out-generalled Kuts in their race in June 1956, must have lost his nerve to have made such an effort, probably because he knew that the 10,000 metres was his last chance of an Olympic gold.
For some years, after he had criticised them, sections of the press had run a campaign against Pirie and they fully vented their spite after the Olympics. However, in a radio interview soon after the games, the great Australian runner Herb Elliott, referred to Pirie and Ibbotson who, having broken the world record for the mile in 1957, had never regained the same form and was not selected for Rome. Elliott said, "The British Press is the most vicious in the world. Their attitude to people like Pirie and Ibbotson is 'That bloke's on his way down, I'm going to kick him down and keep him there.'"
Gordon Pirie was an exceptional cross-country runner and won the English Championship three times.
«Guinness Book of Records 1998» lists Gordon Pirie under the «Greatest Mileage» entry, stating that he had run a total distance of 347600 km (215,989.2 mi) in 40 years to 1981.
Running Fast and Injury Free
In his book Running Fast and Injury Free Gordon Pirie advocates running with stepping on toes (as opposed to the usual style of long steps with landing on heels), 3-5 steps per second to reduce fatigue, damage to feet, and wasting of energy on vertical movement of body.He also describes his collaboration with Adolf Dassler
Adolf Dassler
Adolf "Adi" Dassler was the founder of the German sportswear company Adidas....
on designing running shoes with stronger toes (instead of the usual design with stronger heels) for better durability with his advocated running style.