David Moorcroft

David Moorcroft
at Coventry walk of fame unveiling 16 May 2008
Born	(1953-04-10) 10 April 1953 (age 63) Coventry, England.
Known for	Setting a world record for the 5,000 metres, Chief Executive of UK Athletics.
Spouse(s)	Linda
Children	2

David Robert Moorcroft OBE (born 10 April 1953) is a former middle-distance and long-distance runner from England, and former world record holder for 5,000 metres. His athletic career spanned the late-1970s and 1980s. He subsequently served as the Chief Executive of UK Athletics from 1997 to 2007. He received an MBE in 1983 and an OBE in 1998 for services to British sport.

Moorcroft was born to Robert and Mildred (née Hardy) Moorcroft on 10 April 1953 in Coventry,West Midlands and he has an elder sister. He was a pupil at Woodlands Comprehensive School and Tile Hill College. He studied Physical Education and Sport Science at Loughborough University. He has been a member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers athletics club since 1964 and is currently the club's President.

Moorcroft made his senior debut for Great Britain in 1973 and competed in his first Olympic Games in Montreal 1976, placing seventh in the 1,500-metre final. He won gold in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton at 1500 metres. Just four weeks later, he won the bronze medal at the same distance in the European Athletics Championships in Prague. In the 1980 Moscow Olympics, he suffered from stomach problems and was eliminated in the 5,000-metres semifinals.

Moorcroft had a remarkable season in 1982, where he broke the 5,000 m World Record by 5.79 seconds (without the use of pace-making). His time of 13:00.41 set at the Bislett Games in Oslo stood for three years until broken by Saïd Aouita (though it remained a British record until 2010). He remains the last non-African to set a 5,000 m world record. In the 1982 running season, he set a personal record in most distances, but probably ran too many races or for some other reason lost his peak shape before the European Athletics Championships in Athens. There he took the bronze medal at 5,000 metres, losing to West Germany's Thomas Wessinghage and East Germany's Werner Schildhauer.