Gary Lough

Gary Lough
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Universiade
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Buffalo 1500 m
European Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Birmingham 1500 m

Gary Lough (born 6 July 1970) is a British male former middle-distance runner. He represented his country at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, finishing the 1500 metres final in ninth place.[1] He won 1500 m bronze medals internationally at the 1993 Summer Universiade and the 1994 European Cup.[2][3] He also participated at the 1994 IAAF World Cup and the 1996 European Cup.[4][5]

At the top national level he reached the podium three times. He was third in the 1500 m at the 1993 UK Athletics Championships,[6] third over 800 m at the 1995 AAA Championships, and third in the 1500 m at the 1994 AAA Championships.[7] He was a four-time Northern Irish national champion in the 800 metres, taking straight victories from 1990 to 1993.[8] He was twice champion at the BUCS British Universities Athletics Championships, winning the 1500m title in both 1991 and 1995.[9]

Born in Larne, Moyle Hospital in County Antrim,[10] Lough attended Loughborough University and it was there that he met fellow student-athlete Paula Radcliffe and the two became friends. Five years after the pair began dating and later married, having two children: a daughter, Isla (2007), and a son, Raphael (2010).[11] Lough suffered a knee injury which curtailed his competitive career and instead focused on training and managing his wife's career.[12] Radcliffe set the world record in the marathon while working with her husband.[13] He drew public criticism for his coaching style after her fourth-place performance at the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. Radcliffe was distraught at missing a medal and Lough's trackside remonstration of her tactics was shown on television. Lough later apologised to his wife and the public for his reaction.[14][15]

Lough began working with multiple Olympic champion Mo Farah in February 2018, with Farah remarking that he appreciated Lough's strong will and attention to detail as a coach.[16]

  1. ^ Men 1500m World Championship 1995 Goteborg (SWE) - Sunday 13.08 . Todor66. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  2. ^ European Cup (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  3. ^ World Student Games (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  4. ^ Gary Lough. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  5. ^ Gary Lough. IAAF. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  6. ^ UK Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  7. ^ AAA Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  8. ^ Northern Irish Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  9. ^ British Universities Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  10. ^ McStravick, Sheena (2015-09-10). Antrim born husband of Paula Radcliffe defends wife amid doping allegations. Belfast Live. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  11. ^ Paula Radcliffe presents her second child, son Raphael, exclusively in HELLO!. Hello (2010-11-08). Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  12. ^ Paula Radcliffe: We argue but I owe everything to my husband. Evening Standard (2012-07-10). Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  13. ^ Warrington, Peter (2017-11-01). Gary Lough unveiled as Mo Farah's new coach. Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  14. ^ Williams, Richard (2001-08-09). How dare you come home without a medal . The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  15. ^ Knight, Tom (2001-08-08). Radcliffe runs into a marital row over tactics. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  16. ^ Mo Farah and Gary Lough discuss coaching partnership. Athletics Weekly (2018-02-27). Retrieved 2018-03-13.