View source for Herb Elliott

{{short description|Australian middle-distance runner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2013}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           = Herb Elliott
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=|AC|MBE}}
| image          = Herb Elliott 1960c.jpg
| imagesize      = 240px
| caption        = Elliott at the 1960 Olympics
| birth_name     = Herbert James Elliott
| fullname       = 
| nickname       = Herb
| nationality    = Australian
| residence      = 
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1938|02|25|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Subiaco, Western Australia]], Australia
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = 5 ft 11 in<ref name=sports-reference/>
| weight         = 150 lb<ref name=sports-reference/>
| website        = 
| country        = Australia
| sport          = Middle-distance running
| coach          = [[Percy Cerutty]]
| retired        = 
| coaching       = 
| worlds         = 
| regionals      = 
| nationals      = 
| olympics       = Rome 1960 
| paralympics    = 
| highestranking = 
| pb             = {{ubl|'''[[800 metres|800 m]]''': 1:46.7 (1958) |'''[[1000 metres|1000 m]]''': 2:19.1 (1960) |'''[[1500 metres world record progression|1500 m]]''': 3:35.6 (1960, '''WR''') |'''[[Mile run world record progression|1 mile]]''': 3:54.5 (1958, '''WR''')}}
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country | {{AUS}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Rome]]|[[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres|1500 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Athletics at the Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1958 Cardiff]]|[[Athletics at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's 880 yards|880 yards]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1958 Cardiff]]|[[Athletics at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Men's 1 mile|1 mile]]}}
| show-medals    = yes
}}

'''Herbert James Elliott''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC|MBE}} (born 25 February 1938) is a former Australian athlete and arguably the world's greatest [[middle-distance runner]] of his era. In August 1958 he set the [[List of world records in athletics|world record]] in the [[mile run]], 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.

Herb Elliot never lost a mile run and accomplished 36 wins over this distance.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Herb Elliott|url=https://bringbackthemile.com/athletes/detail/herb_elliott|access-date=2020-12-16|website=Bring Back the Mile}}</ref> During his career, he broke [[Four-minute mile|four minutes]] for the mile on 17 occasions. Only David Richards{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} came close to beating him.

Elliott retired from athletics soon after the 1960 Olympics, at the age of 22.<ref name="HOF" /> He made a career in business, and at one time was chairman of [[Fortescue Metals Group]]. He was also chairman of Global Corporate Challenge health initiative.

==Biography==
Elliott was born on 25 February 1938 at Kensington Hospital, [[Perth, Western Australia]], to Herb{{efn|Herb Elliott sen. was a prominent member of [[Apex Clubs of Australia|Apex]]; president of the Perth club and appointed Life Governor in 1953<ref>{{cite book|author=[[V. M. Branson]] |title=The Golden Years of Apex 1956–1981 |publisher=Association of Apex Clubs of Australia |year=1981 |isbn=0909854106}}</ref>}} and Eileen Elliott, née Carmody.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41662989 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[[The West Australian]] |volume=54 |issue=16,120 |location=Western Australia |date=26 February 1938 |access-date=25 February 2022 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He attended [[Aquinas College, Perth]], where he was Head Prefect in the Class of 1955. The intense sporting culture at Aquinas provided an ideal grounding for Elliott to reach the highest levels of athletic achievement.

On 6 August 1958, Elliott set a new [[Mile run world record progression|world record for the mile]] (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. His closest Australian rival at the time was [[Merv Lincoln]].

===Commonwealth and Olympic Games===
At the 1958 [[Commonwealth Games]] 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 1500 m gold medal in world record time (3:35.6), finishing 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed [[Michel Jazy]] of [[France]].

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."

===University education===
Elliott originally studied at the [[University of Melbourne]], where he was funded by a [[Shell Australia]] university scholarship.<ref>[https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/eTN1959_vol06_06.pdf "Track Newsletter"]. ''Track and Field News''. Vol. 6, no. 6, 21 October 1959. Retrieved 18 April 2024.</ref> After winning in Rome in 1960, he started a further degree course in natural sciences at the [[University of Cambridge]], having been awarded another scholarship by Shell at the behest of [[Lewis Luxton]], an Australian executive at the company who had rowed for Cambridge in the [[The Boat Race 1932|1932 Boat Race]].<ref>Connery, Don (10 November 1958). [https://vault.si.com/vault/1958/11/10/the-amazing-herb-elliott "The Amazing Herb Elliott"]. ''[[Sports Illustrated]]''. Retrieved 18 April 2024.</ref> Elliott matriculated at [[Jesus College, Cambridge]], and received a [[British undergraduate degree classification|third class]] in Part I of the natural sciences [[tripos]] in 1963.<ref>"Cambridge Tripos Lists". ''[[The Times]]''. 19 June 1963, p. 15.</ref> He retired from athletics after running the half-mile in the 1962 University v [[Amateur Athletic Association|AAA]] match.<ref name=sports-reference>{{cite web|title=Herb Elliott Bio, Stats and Results |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/el/herb-elliott-1.html |website=sports-reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |access-date=20 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618075248/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/el/herb-elliott-1.html |archive-date=18 June 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="nuts">[http://www.nuts.org.uk/trackstats/herbelliott.htm Herb Elliott at Cambridge University], ''Track Stats, August 2007'', retrieved 20 March 2010</ref> During his years at Cambridge Elliott lived outside of college, residing with his family in a house in [[Fulbourn]], [[Cambridgeshire]].<ref name="nuts"/><ref>"News in Brief: Elliott retires from international events", ''The Times'', 17 April 1962, p. 12.</ref>

===Business===
Elliott served as the CEO of [[Puma AG|Puma]] North America and between 2001 and 2006 as a board member at [[Ansell Limited|Ansell]].<ref name=sports-reference/> From May 2005, he served as deputy chairman of [[Fortescue Metals Group]], the world's fifth largest iron ore miner by capacity, and was the non-executive chairman of the firm from March 2007.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111014225028/http://www.fmgl.com.au/IRM/content/about_directorprofiles.htm Fortescue director profiles]. Fortescue Metals Group Limited</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140715011530/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/19/iron-ore-idUSSGE63F08Y20100419 FACTBOX-Capacity of world's largest iron ore producers]. Reuters. 19 April 2010</ref> On 18 August 2011, Elliott was expected to move from chairman to deputy chairman, handing over the role of chairman to [[Andrew Forrest]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724132459/http://www.fmgl.com.au/IRM/Company/ShowPage.aspx/PDFs/2298-63305822/FortescueChiefExecutiveandBoardRestructure Fortescue chief executive and Board Restructure]. Fortescue Metals Group Limited. 1 June 2011</ref>

===Sydney Olympics===
Elliott was one of the [[Olympic Torch]] bearers at the opening ceremony of the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] in Sydney, and entered the stadium for the final segment before the lighting of the [[Olympic Flame]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Overington |first1=Caroline |last2=Attwood |first2=Alan |last3=Perkins |first3=Corrie |title=The spectacular opening of the Sydney Olympics |url=https://www.theage.com.au/sport/from-the-archives-2000-the-spectacular-opening-of-the-sydney-olympics-20200910-p55uec.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |work=The Age |agency=Fairfax Media |date=16 September 2000 |language=en}}</ref>

===Family===
[[File:Herb Elliott with family 1960b.jpg|thumb|240px|Elliott with family in Europe {{c.|1960}}]]
On 2 May 1959, Elliott married Anne Dudley, a hairdresser from [[Perth]]. They have six children.<ref>[https://www.si.com/vault/1958/11/10/560330/the-amazing-herb-elliott# The Amazing Herb Elliott], si.com, 10 November 1958</ref><ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/886/000173367/ Herb Elliott], NNDB.com; accessed 8 June 2017.</ref>

==Honours==
Elliott carried the torch of peace to the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]] when [[Pope John Paul II]] visited [[Melbourne, Victoria|Melbourne]] in 1986.<ref>{{YouTube|WqNN-ylj2fs}}</ref>

His career inspired the 1962 Australian television play ''[[The Runner (1962 film)|The Runner]]'' written by [[Alan Seymour]].

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), to wit:<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

He is an [[Australian Living Treasures|Australian Living Treasure]].{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

He was inducted into the [[Sport Australia Hall of Fame]] in 1985.<ref name="HOF">{{cite web|url=https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/herb-elliott/|title=Herb Elliott|publisher=Sport Australia Hall of Fame|access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref>

[[Fortescue Metals Group]] named a new port at Point Anderson (near [[Port Hedland]], [[Western Australia]]) for him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fmgl.com.au/about-fortescue/our-operations|title=Our Operations|publisher=Fortescue|access-date=2023-06-20}}</ref>

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author1=Herb Elliott |author2=Alan Trengove |title=The Golden Mile |publisher=Cassell |year=1961 |id=2286575}} Foreword by Percy Cerutty
* ''Reissue'' {{cite book|author1=Herb Elliott |author2=Alan Trengove |title=The Golden Mile |publisher=Runners Tribe |year=2017 |isbn=9780648214113}}

==Notes and references==
{{Commons category}}
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|TCH}} [[Stanislav Jungwirth]]|title=[[World record progression 1500 metres|Men's 1500 m World Record Holder]]|years=28 August 1958 – 8 July 1967|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Jim Ryun]]}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|GBR}} [[Derek Ibbotson]]|title=[[World record progression for the mile run|Men's Mile World Record Holder]]|years=6 August 1958 – 27 January 1962|after={{flagicon|NZL}} [[Peter Snell]]}}
{{s-end}}

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{{BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Herb}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian male middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Australia]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Athletes from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Western Australian Sports Star of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:People educated at Aquinas College, Perth]]
[[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Australia]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Fortescue Metals Group]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Sportsmen from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Athletics Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]