Derek Graham
Encyclopedia
Derek Graham is a former Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 distance athlete. The first Northern Irish man to break 4 minutes for the mile, he was ranked number 1 in U.K. and Ireland over 2 miles/3000 m, 3 miles/5000 m and cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 at various periods in the 1960s.

He was selected for 9 consecutive International cross country races (later to be recognised as the World Cross country
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...

), finishing 2nd in 1966 in Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...

, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. He also attended the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

, 1966 European Championships
1966 European Championships in Athletics
The 8th European Athletics Championships were held from 30 August to 4 September 1966 in the Nép Stadium in Budapest, Hungary.-Men's results:-Women's results:-Medal table:- References :* *...

, and the 1966
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica from 4 August to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions....

 and 1970 Commonwealth Games. He was the Irish record holder for various distances through this time.

At the 1970 Commonwealth Games, Graham picked up a virus, which later developed into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), which ultimately ended his athletics career

Personal bests

Distance Mark
1 mile 3:59.2
3000 m 8:03
2 miles 8:33.8
3 miles 13:15.6
5000 m 13:41.4
10000 m 29:00.06
Half Marathon 1:03:53

External links




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