Max Robertson (athlete)

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Max Robertson

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| nationality = British (English)

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|12|27|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Weymouth, Dorset, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| sport = Athletics

| event = 400m hurdles

| height = 185 cm

| weight = 72 kg

| club = Haringey AC
Belgrave Harriers

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{ENG}} }}

}}

Maximilian Robertson (born 27 December 1963) is a male English former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. He got a ticket on the plane to represent Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games and the 1992 Olympic Games. He also won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. He won five AAA Championships titles and four UK Championship titles.

Biography

Robertson was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. He finished second to Ahmed Hamada of Burundi at the 1985 AAA Championships in 50.16 secs but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete was considered the British 400 metres hurdles champion.{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=19 June 2025}}

In his first season running below 50 seconds, he achieved his season's best with 49.75 on 30 August 1985 in Budapest, to be the second ranked 400 metres hurdler in the UK behind Mark Holtom. He would go on to rank in the UK top three for eight consecutive seasons (1985-1992).http://www.gbrathletics.com/tp.gbrm.htm{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Robertson won both the UK Championships and AAA Championships titles in 1986, running a personal best of 49.53 at the latter. At the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the silver medal for England in a time of 49.77, behind Phil Beattie of Northern Ireland.{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/edinburgh-1986/athletes|title=1986 Athletes|website=Team England}}{{cite web|url=https://thecgf.com/results/games/3041/19/all|title=England team in 1986|website=Commonwealth Games Federation|access-date=6 October 2019|archive-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419153600/https://thecgf.com/results/games/3041/19/all|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/37608|title=Athletes and results|website=Commonwealth Games Federation}} At the European Championships in Stuttgart, he reached the semi-finals, running 50.06.

Robertson retained both the UK and AAAs titles in 1987. He tied with Kriss Akabusi (in Akabusi's first season at 400m hurdles) at the UK Championships in 49.56, before winning the AAA Championship title in 49.51. At the World Championships in Rome, he ran 49.73 to reach the semi-finals, where he was eliminated in 49.90.{{Cite web|url=http://www.todor66.com/athletics/world/1987/Men_400m_Hurdles.html|title = Men 400m Hurdles Athletics II World Championship Rome (ITA) 1987 - Tuesday 01.09 - Gold Medal: Edwin Moses, United States}} 1987 also saw him improve his personal best to 49.35.

Robertson won his third AAA title at the 1988 AAA Championships/Olympic trials in 50.23 secs, earning Olympic selection. At the Seoul Olympics, he was eliminated in the heats with 50.67. 1989 saw him win his third UK title and fourth AAAs title.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/|title = British Athletics Championships}}

Robertson reached his peak at the 1990European Championships in Split, running his lifetime best of 49.25 in the semi-finals, to miss the final by just one-one hundredth of a second.{{Cite web|url=http://www.todor66.com/athletics/europe/1990/Men_400m_Hurdles.html|title=Men 400m Hurdles Athletics XV European Championships 1990 Split, Yugoslavia - Gold Medal: Kriss Akabusi, Great Britain}} He won his fourth UK title and fifth AAA title in 1991, running a season's best of 49.97 at the AAA. Forced out of the 1991 World Championships through injury, he concluded his international career by competing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he failed to finish in the heats.

Personal life

Robertson has two daughters; Clara Rose (Feb 1999) and Eleanor Jayne (Oct 2001).

Competition record

{{AchievementTable}} !colspan="6"\|Representing {{ENG}}
1986 \|Commonwealth Games \|Edinburgh, Scotland \|bgcolor="silver"\| 2nd \|49.77
colspan=6\|Representing {{GBR2}}
1986 \|European Championships \|Stuttgart, West Germany \|11th (sf) \|50.06
1987 \|World Championships \|Rome, Italy \|15th (sf) \|49.90 (49.73 in heat)
1988 \|Olympic Games \|Seoul, South Korea \|24th (h) \|50.67
1990 \|European Championships \|Split, Yugoslavia \|6th (sf) \|49.25
1992 \|Olympic Games \|Barcelona, Spain \|heats \|DNF
colspan=6\|National Championships
1985 \|AAA Championships \|London, UK \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|50.16
rowspan=2\|1986 \|UK Championships \|Cwmbran, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|49.99
AAA Championships \|London, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|49.52
rowspan=2\|1987 \|UK Championships \|Derby, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|49.56
AAA Championships \|London, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|49.51
1988 \|AAA Championships (Olympic trials) \|Birmingham, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|50.23
rowspan=2\|1989 \|UK Championships \|Jarrow, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|50.50
AAA Championships \|Birmingham, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|50.30
1990 \|AAA Championships \|Birmingham, UK \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|50.22
rowspan=2\|1991 \|UK Championships \|Cardiff, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|50.33
AAA Championships \|Birmingham, UK \|bgcolor=gold\|1st \|49.98
rowspan=2\|1992 \|UK Championships \|Sheffield, UK \|bgcolor=silver\|2nd \|50.13
AAA Championships (Olympic trials) \|Birmingham, UK \|bgcolor=cc9966\|3rd \|50.46
colspan=6\| (#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)

!colspan="6"|Representing {{ENG}}

1986

|Commonwealth Games

|Edinburgh, Scotland

|bgcolor="silver"| 2nd

|49.77

colspan=6|Representing {{GBR2}}

1986

|European Championships

|Stuttgart, West Germany

|11th (sf)

|50.06