Peter Elliott (athlete)

Peter Elliott

Personal information
Born	9 October 1962 Rawmarsh, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England
Medal record Men's Athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 1500 m World Championships 1987 Rome 800 m Representing  England Commonwealth Games 1990 Auckland 1500 m 1986 Edinburgh 800 m

Peter Elliott (born 9 October 1962 in Rotherham, Yorkshire) is a former middle-distance runner from the United Kingdom. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1988 Olympic Games, and the silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1987 World Championships.

Elliott was brought up in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He attended Rawmarsh Comprehensive School and later worked as a joiner at British Steel Corporation. Remarkably, he managed to establish himself as a world class athlete while working full-time. He began his athletic career by running in the Young Athletes League for his local club, Rotherham Harriers, and his 800m time of 1 minute 53.3 seconds has been the under-17 record since 1979. Elliott also held the UK under-17 record with a time of 1 minute 50.7 seconds, which stood for nearly 10 years. He excelled as a schoolboy athlete, winning four English Schools titles, twice at 800 metres and twice over the country.

Elliott was unfortunate to miss out on selection for the 1500m at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, losing out to the eventual gold and silver medallists, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram, and the world record holder at the time, Steve Ovett. At the time, it was a very controversial decision. Ovett and Cram had already secured their places. The third place was either Coe's or Elliott's. Although Elliott defeated Coe at the AAA's Championships which somehow came to be viewed as a "race off" between the two, the selectors opted for Coe. Elliott was selected for the 800m and qualified for the semi-finals, but had to withdraw due to an injury.

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