Liz McColgan

{{Short description|Scottish middle-distance athlete (born 1964)}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Liz McColgan-Nuttall
MBE

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| birth_name = Elizabeth Lynch

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1964|05|24}}

| birth_place = Dundee, Scotland

| hometown =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 1.70 m

| weight = 45 kg

| country = Great Britain
Scotland

| sport = Athletics

| event = 10,000 metres
Marathon
3000 metres

| club = Dundee Hawks

| retired =

| medaltemplates =

{{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}}

{{Medal|Country|{{SCO}}}}

}}

Elizabeth Nuttall {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships and a silver over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. McColgan earned a silver in the 3000 metres at the 1989 World Indoor Championships. She was a two-time gold medalist in the event at the Commonwealth Games, 1992 World Half Marathon champion and a two-time individual medallist at the World Cross Country Championships. She claimed three victories at the World Marathon Majors: at the 1991 New York City Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon and 1996 London Marathon.

McColgan's 10,000 metres best of 30:57.07 set in 1991, moved her to second on the world all-time list at that time and stood as the Scottish record until 2022, when it was broken by her daughter Eilish McColgan. Her marathon best of 2:26:52 set in 1997, stood as the Scottish record until 2019.

Early life

Born Elizabeth Lynch,{{cite web |title=Liz McColgan profile at|work=Sports Reference Olympic Sports|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mc/liz-mccolgan-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174613/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mc/liz-mccolgan-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|access-date=1 January 2015}} she grew up in the Whitfield area of Dundee{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12172276.Injuries_force_Scotland_apos_s_most_successful_female_athlete__Liz_McColgan__into_retirement_Fracture_is_final_straw_for_track_queen/ |title=Injuries force Scotland's most successful female athlete, Liz McColgan, into retirement Fracture is final straw for track queen |work=The Herald |date=11 August 2001 |access-date=1 January 2015}} and was a pupil of St Saviour's RC High School.

She joined her local athletics club, Hawkhill Harriers, aged 12 on the advice of her PE teacher Phil Kearns{{cite web |title=Liz McColgan interview |work=Run Britain |url=http://www.runbritain.com/articles/liz-mccolgan-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425235402/http://www.runbritain.com/articles/liz-mccolgan-interview/ |archive-date=25 April 2012}}{{cite news |title=McColgan's long run from factory to fame |first=Geoffrey |last=Beattie |work=The Independent |date=16 December 1995 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/mccolgans-long-run-from-factory-to-fame-1526011.html |access-date=21 November 2011}} Coached by Harry Bennett, she soon discovered a talent for distance running and won her first UK titles aged 18. Following Bennett's death, McColgan coached herself in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986. From 1987 to 1989 McColgan was coached by John Anderson, including at the 1988 Olympics, after which she coached herself to the world 10,000m title and to wins in the London, New York and Tokyo marathons. She then met Grete Waitz, who coached her from 1992 to her retirement in 1996.

Athletics career

At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, as Liz Lynch, she 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.{{cite web|title=Liz McColgan biography|work=United Kingdom Athletics|url=http://www.uka.org.uk/e-inspire/hall-of-fame-athletes/liz-mccolgan|access-date=22 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012175144/http://uka.org.uk/e-inspire/hall-of-fame-athletes/liz-mccolgan/|archive-date=12 October 2011|df=dmy-all}} Earlier that year, she had won the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in the mile representing the University of Alabama. In 1987, she won a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Warsaw representing Scotland (Great Britain would not send a unified team to the World Cross until 1988). She finished behind Annette Sergent of France but ahead of Ingrid Kristiansen. In September, she improved the UK 10,000m record to 31:19.82 while finishing fifth at the World Championships in Rome, in a race won by Kristiansen.

In 1988, now competing as Liz McColgan, she improved her own UK record with 31:06.99 in July to defeat Kristiansen in Oslo. Almost three months later, she ran 31:08.44 to win an Olympic silver medal in the inaugural women's 10,000 metres at the Seoul Olympics. She was defeated by the Soviet Union's Olga Bondarenko. McColgan won silver in the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in 1989. In January 1990, she became the only Scot to successfully defend a Commonwealth title at the 1990 games in Auckland, New Zealand, when she again took the gold in the 10,000 metres, as well as bronze in the 3,000 metres. She missed the rest of the 1990 season due to pregnancy, giving birth to her daughter (future Olympic athlete) Eilish in November. Nike dropped her the moment she told them she was pregnant.{{cite news |work=The Telegraph |date=16 October 2019|title=Liz McColgan-Nuttall exclusive - on being dropped by Nike while pregnant and wanting to protect daughter Eilish from online trolls |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletics/2019/10/16/liz-mccolgan-nuttall-exclusive-dropped-nike-pregnant-wanting/ |first=Ben |last=Bloom |access-date=4 June 2020}}

Just six weeks after her daughter Eilish was born, she contested an international 5 km race in Florida and won a bronze medal at the 1991 World Cross Country Championships. In June 1991, she ran her lifetime best for the 10,000 m with 30:57.07 in Hengelo, becoming only the third woman to run under 31 minutes, moving to second on the world all-time list behind Kristiansen and narrowly ahead of Bondarenko. This stood as the Scottish record until it was broken by Eilish in 2022.[https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/61710527 Eilish McColgan beats Letesenbet Gidey - and mother Liz's time - as she sets Scottish 10,000m best], BBC, 6 June 2022 In August 1991, she won gold in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.{{cite news |work=New York Times|date=31 August 1991|title=TRACK AND FIELD; Super Decathlon Effort Is Just About a Footnote|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/31/sports/track-and-field-super-decathlon-effort-is-just-about-a-footnote.html |first=Michael |last=Janofsky |access-date=23 November 2011}} In November of that year at the New York City Marathon, her first marathon, she won with a time of 2:27.23, breaking the record for a debut marathon by three minutes.{{cite news |work=New York Times|date=4 November 1991|title=NEW YORK CITY MARATHON; A Brash McColgan Wins With Bold Debut |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/04/sports/new-york-city-marathon-a-brash-mccolgan-wins-with-bold-debut.html |first=Robert |last=McG. Thomas Jr. |access-date=1 January 2016}}

In March 1992, McColgan struggled to a 41st-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in Boston. Then, in the summer, she finished fifth in the 10,000m final at the Barcelona Olympics. In September, she won the inaugural World Half Marathon Championships, where she also helped the British team claim the silver medal in the team competition. Two months later, she won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon.

After more than two years struggling with injuries, McColgan finished fifth in the 1995 London Marathon and sixth in the 10,000m final at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. In 1996, she won the London Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds, before finishing 16th in the marathon at the Atlanta Olympics. She finished second in the London Marathons of 1997 and 1998, running her career-best time of 2:26:52 in 1997. She gave her medal to a youngster in the crowd after the 1997 event.{{cite news | work=Daily Record | date=14 April 1997 | title=SILVER MEDAL AND A HEART OF GOLD!; MALL FOR NOTHING: Scot McColgan loses marathon crown | url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/SILVER+MEDAL+AND+A+HEART+OF+GOLD!%3b+MALL+FOR+NOTHING%3a+Scot+McColgan...-a061020226 | access-date=21 June 2019}}

McColgan retired from competing in August 2001 when she fractured a bone in her foot while training for selection for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.{{cite news|title=Interview: Liz McColgan, athletics coach and former athlete |work=The Scotsman |date=21 July 2011 |access-date=24 November 2011 |url=http://www.scotsman.com/sport/interview_liz_mccolgan_athletics_coach_and_former_athlete_1_1755715}} However, she returned in 2004 to win the Scottish Indoor Championships 3000 metres (in 9:31). In 2007, she ran the London Marathon, finishing 25th in 2:50:38. She also completed the 2010 New York Marathon in 3:10:54. In 2017, she completed the inaugural Stirling Scottish Marathon in 3:18:32.

Personal life

In 1987 she married Northern Irish athlete Peter McColgan; they had five children together - Eilish, Martin, Eamonn, Kieran and Orla. The couple separated in November 2010 and finalised their divorce in March 2013.{{cite news |title=Liz McColgan and husband Peter to divorce |work=The Courier |date=23 November 2010 |access-date=22 November 2011 |url=http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/7882/liz-mccolgan-and-husband-peter-to-divorce.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203003152/http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/7882/liz-mccolgan-and-husband-peter-to-divorce.html |archive-date=3 February 2012 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite news|title=Liz McColgan settles divorce with husband Peter|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/liz-mccolgan-settles-divorce-with-husband-peter-1-2830164|access-date=24 August 2015|date=11 March 2013|work=The Scotsman}} On 18 January 2014, McColgan married John Nuttall{{cite news|title=Athletics star Liz McColgan reveals her new-found happiness as she marries for the second time|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/athletics-star-liz-mccolgan-reveals-3037925|access-date=20 January 2014|newspaper=Scottish Daily Record|date=19 January 2014}} (1967–2023), a coach who worked as head of endurance coaching for British Athletics and later coached in Qatar, becoming step-mother to Nuttall's son, para-athlete Luke Nuttall and daughter, British international athlete Hannah Nuttall.{{Cite web|date=2020-04-27|title=Hannah Nuttall|url=https://golobos.com/roster/hannah-nuttall/|access-date=2022-07-17|website=University of New Mexico Lobos athletics|language=en-US}}

McColgan's eldest daughter, Eilish, is also a distance runner. Eilish broke her mother's Scottish 10,000 metre record in 2022, and emulated her mother by winning the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Awards

In December 1991, McColgan appeared on This Is Your Life{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/24712337 |title=Sports Personality: Liz McColgan wins in 1991 |work=BBC Sport |date=22 November 2013}} She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to athletics in 1992United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=52767 |date=30 December 1991 |pages=15 |supp=y}} and inducted to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.{{cite web |title=Liz McColgan, MBE |work=Scottish Sports Hall of Fame |url=http://www.sshf.co.uk/inductees/l-p/liz-mccolgan-mbe/ |access-date=1 January 2015}}

Achievements

=International competitions=

{{AchievementTable\|Event=yes}}
colspan=6\|Representing {{SCO}}
1982 \|World Cross Country Championships \|Rome, Italy \|71st \|4.7 km \|16:03
1986 \|Commonwealth Games \|Edinburgh, Scotland \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|10,000 m \|31:41.42
1987 \|World Cross Country Championships \|Warsaw, Poland \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|5.1 km \|16:48
rowspan=2\|1990 \|rowspan=2\|Commonwealth Games \|rowspan=2\|Auckland, New Zealand \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|10,000 m \|32:23.56
bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|3000 m \|8:47.66
colspan=6\|Representing {{GBR2}}
rowspan=2\|1986 \|rowspan=2\|European Championships \|rowspan=2\|Stuttgart, West Germany \|12th \|3000 m \|9:02.42
7th \|10,000 m \|31:49.46
1987 \|World Championships \|Rome, Italy \|5th \|10,000 m \|31:19.82
1988 \|Olympic Games \|Seoul, South Korea \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|10,000 m \|31:08.44
rowspan=2\|1989 \|rowspan=2\|World Indoor Championships \|rowspan=2\|Budapest, Hungary \|6th \|1500 m \|4:10.16
bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|3000 m \|8:34.80
rowspan=2\|1991 \|World Cross Country Championships \|Antwerp, Belgium \|bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|6.4 km \|20:28
World Championships \|Tokyo, Japan \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|10,000 m \|31:14.31
rowspan=3\|1992 \|World Cross Country Championships \|Boston, MA, United States \|41st \|6.4 km \| 22:21
Olympic Games \|Barcelona, Spain \|5th \|10,000 m \|31:26.11
World Half Marathon Championships \|Newcastle, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|Half marathon \|1:08:53
1993 \|World Cross Country Championships \|Amorebieta, Spain \|5th \|6.4 km \|20:17
1995 \|World Championships \|Gothenburg, Sweden \|6th \|10,000 m \|31:40.14
1996 \|Olympic Games \|Atlanta, GA, United States \|16th \|Marathon \|2:34:30
colspan=6\|World Marathon Majors
1991 \|New York City Marathon \|New York, NY, United States \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|Marathon \|2:27:32
1992 \|Tokyo Marathon \|Tokyo, Japan \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|Marathon \|2:27:38
1993 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|Marathon \|2:29:37
rowspan=2\|1995 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|5th \|Marathon \|2:31:14
Tokyo Marathon \|Tokyo, Japan \|7th \|Marathon \|2:30:32
1996 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|Marathon \|2:27:54
1997 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|Marathon \|2:26:52
1998 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|Marathon \|2:26:54
2007 \|London Marathon \|London, United Kingdom \|25th \|Marathon \|[http://www.marathonguide.com/results/browse.cfm?RL=1&MIDD=16070422&Gen=F&Begin=1&End=100&Max=10852 2:50:38]
2010 \|New York City Marathon \|New York, NY, United States \|129th \|Marathon \|3:10:54
colspan=6\|Other marathons
2017 \|Stirling Scottish Marathon \|Stirling, United Kingdom \|16th \|Marathon \|3:18:32

colspan=6|Representing {{SCO}}

1982

|World Cross Country Championships

|Rome, Italy

|71st

|4.7 km

|16:03

1986

|Commonwealth Games

|Edinburgh, Scotland

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|10,000 m