Herb Elliott
Encyclopedia
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 of 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. 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.
, 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. 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.
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."
, the world's fifth largest iron ore miner by capacity, and has been the non-executive chairman of the firm since March 2007. 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.
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.
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
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
athlete, one of the world's greatest middle distance runners. In August of 1958 he set the world record in the mile, clocking 3:54.5, 2.7 seconds under the record held by Derek Ibbotson
Derek Ibbotson
George Derek Ibbotson MBE was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s. His most famous achievement was setting a new world record in the mile in 1957....
; later in the month he set the 1500 metres
1500 metres
The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
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. 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
Elliott, a native of Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, attended Aquinas College
Aquinas College, Perth
Aquinas College is a Catholic independent, day and boarding school for boys, located in Salter Point, Western Australia. Its sister school is Santa Maria Ladies College located in Attadale...
, in Perth. Aquinas College is renowned for its sport culture, and it was this culture that helped Elliott achieve such heights in athletics. He also attended Cambridge University.
He set a new world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for the mile on 6 August 1958 (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium
Morton Stadium
Morton Stadium, or the National Athletics Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Santry, in the north of Dublin City. Often called Santry Stadium, it is the centre for athletics events in Ireland, and home track of Clonliffe Harriers. It was home to Sporting Fingal FC...
in Dublin. Later that month he broke the 1500 metres world record in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
with a time of 3:36.0.
Commonwealth Games
At the 1958 Commonwealth GamesCommonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, he won gold in the 880 yards and the mile. Two years later, at the 1960 Summer Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 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
Percy Cerutty
Percy Wells Cerutty was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the 1950s and 1960s....
, 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
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
), 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
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.Business
From May 2005, he served as Deputy Chairman of Fortescue Metals GroupFortescue Metals Group
Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...
, the world's fifth largest iron ore miner by capacity, and has been the non-executive chairman of the firm since March 2007. 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.
Earlier Elliott served as the CEO of Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
North America and between 2001 and 2006 as a board member at Ansell
Ansell Limited
Ansell Limited is an international manufacturer of protective and medical gloves and condoms. Ansell was founded in Australia in 1929 by by Eric Norman Ansell who was at the time a worker for Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company of Australasia. Originally Ansell was known as E. N. Ansell & Sons but...
, one of the world's biggest condom makers.
Sydney Olympics
He was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and entered the stadium for the final segment before the lighting of the Olympic Flame
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
.
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
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(MBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2002, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(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
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
.