Mike McFarlane

{{about||the American baseball player|Mike Macfarlane|other similarly named people|Michael McFarlane (disambiguation){{!}}Michael McFarlane}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor =

| name = Mike McFarlane

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| nationality = British (English)

| birth_date = {{birth date|1960|5|2|df=y}}

| birth_place = Hackney, London, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|6|6|1960|5|2|df=y}}

| death_place =

| sport = Athletics

| event = Sprints

| height = 178 cm

| weight = 74 kg

| club = Haringey AC

| pb =

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport| Men's athletics}}

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

{{Medal|Country|{{ENG}}}}

}}

Michael Anthony McFarlane OBE (2 May 1960 – 31 May 2023) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres and 200 metres. He won an Olympic silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and was the 200 m gold medallist at the 1982 Commonwealth Games and a 60 metres gold medallist at the 1985 European Athletics Indoor Championships. McFarlane won two further sprint medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.

Biography

McFarlane lived in the London Borough of Hackney. He started out as a schoolboy winning the English schoolboys' 200 metres on three occasions. This success continued as he went on to win the AAA's junior Indoor 60/200 metre titles. This was followed by an outdoor AAA's junior 200 victory. He was also a South of England Champion and in 1979/1980 he won the European junior and AAA's Indoor 200 metre titles.

In 1980, he went to the Moscow Olympics where he ran in the 200 metres, where he got to the quarter-final. He was also a member of the sprint relay team that reached the final and finished fourth in a new British record. In 1982, after winning the U.K. championships 200, he went to his second Commonwealth Games where he won a joint Commonwealth gold alongside 1980 Olympic 100-metre champion Allan Wells in an historic and memorable 200 metres where both men could not be separated, and both claimed gold medals.{{cite web |url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/brisbane-1982/athletes |title=1982 Athletes |website=Team England}}

In 1984, he won the 1984 UK Athletics Championships 100 metres, then went to the Los Angeles Olympics where he reached the final of the 100 metres, and finished in fifth place. In 1985, he became European Indoor Champion at 60 metres. In 1986, he competed at his third Commonwealth games where he won bronze in the 100 metres, and silver in the sprint relay.{{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/athletes/36068 |title=Athletes and results |website=Commonwealth Games Federation |access-date=28 September 2019 |archive-date=28 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928112453/https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/36068 |url-status=dead }} He also reached the European 100 metre final in Stuttgart in 1986 where he finished 6th. He ran in the 100 m at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, failing to make the final.

McFarlane competed for Great Britain in the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea in the 4 × 100 metres relay where he won the silver medal with his teammates Elliot Bunney, John Regis, and Linford Christie. He subsequently made a successful career in coaching after retirement and was a high performance coach for UK Athletics based at the National Athletics Centre in Lee Valley.

In the 2001 Birthday Honours, McFarlane was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Athletics and to The Duke of Edinburgh's Award."United Kingdom {{London Gazette| issue=56237 |date=16 June 2001|pages=12 |supp=1}}

McFarlane died on 31 May 2023 at the age of 63,[https://athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/tributes-flood-in-for-mike-mcfarlane-the-super-mac-of-the-gb-sprints-scene-1039968298/ Tributes flood in for Mike McFarlane, the super Mac of the GB sprints scene]

Personal bests

100 metres – 10.22 seconds
200 metres – 20.43 seconds

References

{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Mike McFarlane |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mc/mike-mcfarlane-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418011702/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mc/mike-mcfarlane-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |accessdate=24 January 2010}}
{{World Athletics}}
{{Olympedia|69293}}

Category:1960 births

Category:2023 deaths

Category:Athletes from the London Borough of Hackney

Category:English male sprinters

Category:British male sprinters

Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain

Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics

Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England

Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England