Roger Hackney

Roger Graham Hackney (born 2 September 1957) is a Welsh former long-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He represented Great Britain in three Olympic Games and won a silver medal for Wales at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.

Roger Hackney
Personal information
Birth nameRoger Graham Hackney
NationalityWelsh
Born (1957-09-02) 2 September 1957
Swansea, Wales
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Country Great Britain
 Wales
SportAthletics
ClubAldershot, Farnham & District AC
Farnborough
Royal Air Force
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Wales
Commonwealth Games
1986 Edinburgh3000 m steeplechase

Biography

Hackney, who was a member of the Royal Air Force, and trained at Aldershot, Farnham and District AC, specialised in the 3000m steeplechase. He made his Olympics debut as a 22-year old at the 1980 Moscow Games and was seventh in his semi-final, only just missing out on a spot in the final, with the next best time of the competitors that missed out.[1]

At the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Hackney came fifth in the final of the steeplechase.[2]

His best performance in the Olympics came at the 1984 Los Angeles Games where he ran the semi-final in 8:20.77 and qualified for the final, in which he finished 10th.[3]

He won a silver medal representing Wales in the steeplechase at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, in a time of 8:25.15, behind Canada's Graeme Fell and ahead of Colin Reitz, another British athlete.[4] The field was weakened by the absence of many African countries, most notably Kenya, which boycotted the competition over the Thatcher government's sporting links with apartheid South Africa.[5] In 1986 he was also eighth at the European Championships.[2]

He was part of the Great British Olympic team for a third and final time at the 1988 Seoul Games. By then aged 31, Hackney once more made it to the semi-final stage, but was unable to complete the race and didn't register a time.[6]

His personal best time, 8:18.91, is a Welsh record and was set in 1988, while competing in Belgium.[2] He is the only non Belgian to win the Lotto Cross Cup.

He now works in Leeds as an orthopaedic surgeon.[7]

International competitions

All results regarding 3000 metres steeplechase unless stated otherwise.

YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  Great Britain /  Wales
1979 World Cross Country Championships (12 km) Limerick, Ireland 153rd 41:17
1980 World Cross Country Championships (12.58 km) Paris, France 62nd 38:43
Olympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 13th (h) 8:29.2
1981 World Cross Country Championships (12 km) Madrid, Spain 126th 37:17
1982 World Cross Country Championships (12 km) Rome, Italy 103rd 36:06
European Championships Athens, Greece 21st (h) 8:39.22
Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 4th 8:32.84
11th 13:51.20 (5000 m)
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 5th 8:19.38
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 10th 8:27.10
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, United Kingdom 2nd 8:25.15
European Championships Stuttgart, Germany 8th 8:20.97
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 14th 8:48.86
1988 World Cross Country Championships (12 km) Auckland, New Zealand 13th 35:59
Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea DNF (sf) 8:39.30 ((heats)
1989 World Cross Country Championships (12 km) Stavanger, Norway DNF —
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 7th 8:36.62
14th 14:27.06 (5000 m)
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf). DNF = did not finish

References
  1. "Athletics at the 1980 Moskva Summer Games: Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. "Roger Hackney - About us". Welsh Athletics (Athletau Cymru). Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. "Hackney With Flying Colours". The Glasgow Herald. 6 January 1986. p. 8. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  4. Northam, Randall (6 July 1981). "A victory for the unsung British heroes". The Glasgow Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. Webster, Jim (28 July 1986). "A Black day for Clark". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 50. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  6. "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. "Surgeon's innovation relieves shoulder pain". Yorkshire Evening Post. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
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