Ian Stewart (athlete)
Ian Stewart ( born January 15, 1949 in Handsworth, Birmingham) is a former British long-distance runner, the 1969 European champion in 5000 -meter run and 1975 world champion in cross-country running.
At 15, Stewart began under coach Geoff Warr at the Birchfield Harriers athletics some training. He had his first success in cross country, he was British youth champion in 1968. In the summer of 1968, Stewart presented on five European junior record over 3000 m and 5000 m.
In 1969 he won at the European Indoor Games in Belgrade in 7:55,4 min over 3000 m. In the summer, he won the European Championships in Athens over 5000 m in 13:44,8 min. The breakthrough in the world-class succeeded him in the final of the British Commonwealth Games in 1970 in Edinburgh. Starting for Scotland, he won the European record of 13:22,85 min before his teammate Ian McCafferty in 13:23,4 min, was third Kenyan Kipchoge Keino, the Australian world record holder Ron Clarke finished fifth.
After Stewart could hardly start in 1971 due to an injury, he returned back in 1972. At the Olympic Games in Munich, the 5000 - meter race was decided after a quick race in a sprint. It won the Finn Lasse Virén before the Tunisian Mohammed Gammoudi, Stewart was in 13:27,6 min third with a second behind Virén. Even Steve Prefontaine (USA) and the Belgian Emiel Puttemans remained under the Olympic record, had set up the Puttemans in the flow.
After Stewart was in January 1974 at the British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch with fifth place in the 5000m and sixth place in the 10,000 m unhappy, he tries his hand at the summer of 1974 as a cyclist. In the winter he returned to athletics and won to the financial statements at the San Silvestre Vallecana. In the Indoor Athletics Championships 1975 in Katowice, he won over 3000m in 7:58,6 min in a sprint before the simultaneous Finns Pekka Päivärinta. A week later he won at the World Cross Country Championships in Rabat the title with a second ahead of the Spaniard Mariano Haro. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, he was over 5000 m in 13:27,65 min seventh and had less than three seconds behind the winner Lasse Virén.
In 1977 he compiled a world record over the distance ten miles of road running in minutes with 45:13.
Ian Stewart is 1,78 m tall and weighed 65 kg in its competition time. In 1979 he was awarded the Order MBE. His brother Peter Stewart ( b. 1947 ) 1971 European Indoor Champion over 3000m and his sister Mary Stewart ( b. 1956 ) 1977 European Indoor champion in the 1500 m.