Percy Cerutty
Encyclopedia
Percy Wells Cerutty was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the 1950s and 1960s.
The eccentric Australia
n pioneered a home-spun system of 'Stotan' training, embracing a holistic regime of natural diets, hard training in natural surrounds, and mental stimulation.
Cerutty coached Herb Elliott
to a series of world record
performances, culminating in an Olympic
gold medal in the 1960 Rome Games
.
.
In 1907, he left school to help support the family but was considered unfit to serve in World War I
. He competed in athletics without distinction, suffering from illness after racing.
In 1939, following a nervous breakdown
, Cerutty took leave to re-build his body, adopting a natural diet
, studying philosophy
and psychology
, and resuming running
and weightlifting.
After World War II
, Cerutty began competing in distance running events, winning the Victorian State Marathon Championship before he retired from the track.
and Sparta
n principles.
He introduced this approach to the athletes he trained at his Portsea, Victoria
headquarters. Training would involve running in idyllic scenes, along the beach and up the dunes, mixing poetry
and philosophy with athletics training.
Athletes training under Cerutty said "You came here with the object of running more quickly, and achieving the running, but really it was a education in life" and "You got a whole philosophy of life and attitudes"
The new philosophy of life included the following tenets[5]:
Between 1959 and 1967, Cerutty published six books on his training philosophies.
Cerutty maintained a great rivalry with fellow-coach Franz Stampfl
whose Interval Training
techniques were disliked by Cerutty.
, and set world records at Mile
(3:54.5) and 1500 metres
(3:36.0) during the year.
At Rome
in 1960, the 22 year-old Elliott set a world record
to win the Olympic
gold medal in the 1500 metres setting another world record
of 3:35.6.
Cerutty also helped cyclist
Russell Mockridge
and boxer
Jimmy Carruthers
during their sporting careers.
Described as 'Australia’s most enigmatic, pioneering and controversial athletics coach', he died of motor neurone disease
in 1975.
The eccentric Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n pioneered a home-spun system of 'Stotan' training, embracing a holistic regime of natural diets, hard training in natural surrounds, and mental stimulation.
Cerutty coached Herb Elliott
Herb Elliott
Herbert James "Herb" Elliott AC MBE is a former Australian athlete, one of the world's greatest middle distance runners...
to a series of world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
performances, culminating in an Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal in the 1960 Rome Games
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
.
Early life
Percy Cerutty was four years old when his mother left her alcoholic husband and struggled to raise her six surviving children in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
In 1907, he left school to help support the family but was considered unfit to serve in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He competed in athletics without distinction, suffering from illness after racing.
In 1939, following a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
, Cerutty took leave to re-build his body, adopting a natural diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
, studying philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and resuming running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
and weightlifting.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Cerutty began competing in distance running events, winning the Victorian State Marathon Championship before he retired from the track.
Stotan Philosophy
Cerutty's 'Stotan' philosophies were a blend of StoicStoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...
and Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n principles.
He introduced this approach to the athletes he trained at his Portsea, Victoria
Portsea, Victoria
Portsea is a resort town located across Port Phillip from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula....
headquarters. Training would involve running in idyllic scenes, along the beach and up the dunes, mixing poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and philosophy with athletics training.
Athletes training under Cerutty said "You came here with the object of running more quickly, and achieving the running, but really it was a education in life" and "You got a whole philosophy of life and attitudes"
The new philosophy of life included the following tenets[5]:
- Only consumption of whole wheat breadWhole wheat breadWhole wheat bread is a type of bread that is made using flour which is partly or entirely made from whole or almost whole wheat grains, see whole wheat flour and whole grain. It is one kind of brown bread. Synonyms or near-synonyms for whole wheat bread elsewhere in the world are whole grain bread...
, as white flour was a poison. - Moderate consumption of alcohol
- No consumption of cigarettes
- No consumption of water or drink with meals or following for a few hours
- No socializing after midnight
Between 1959 and 1967, Cerutty published six books on his training philosophies.
Cerutty maintained a great rivalry with fellow-coach Franz Stampfl
Franz Stampfl
Franz F. L. Stampfl MBE was one of the world's leading athletics coaches in the twentieth century. He pioneered a scientific system of Interval Training which became very popular with sprint and middle distance athletes.-Early life:Stampfl was born in the capital of then Austro-Hungarian Empire...
whose Interval Training
Interval training
Interval training is a type of physical training that involves bursts of high-intensity work interspersed with periods of low-intensity work...
techniques were disliked by Cerutty.
Herb Elliott
Cerutty's greatest successes came through Herb Elliott. Elliott won two gold medals at the 1958 Empire GamesAthletics at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff, Wales in July 1958. A total of 29 athletics events were contested at the Games, 20 by men and 9 by women. Four Games records were improved over the competition.-Men:-Women:-Medal...
, and set world records at Mile
World record progression for the mile run
The world record in the mile run is the best mark set by a male or female runner in the middle-distance track and field event. The IAAF is the official body which oversees the records. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:43.13 minutes, while Svetlana Masterkova...
(3:54.5) and 1500 metres
World record progression 1500 metres
The 1500 metre run became a standard racing distance in Europe in the late 19th century, perhaps as a metric version of the mile, a popular running distance since at least the 1850s in English-speaking countries....
(3:36.0) during the year.
At Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1960, the 22 year-old Elliott set a world record
World record progression 1500 metres
The 1500 metre run became a standard racing distance in Europe in the late 19th century, perhaps as a metric version of the mile, a popular running distance since at least the 1850s in English-speaking countries....
to win the Olympic
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
gold medal in the 1500 metres setting another world record
World record progression 1500 metres
The 1500 metre run became a standard racing distance in Europe in the late 19th century, perhaps as a metric version of the mile, a popular running distance since at least the 1850s in English-speaking countries....
of 3:35.6.
Other Athletes
Further athletes trained or assisted by Cerutty included:- John LandyJohn LandyJohn Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE is an Australian former Olympic track athlete. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run, and he held the world records for the 1500 metre run and the mile race...
- 1956 Olympic1956 Summer OlympicsThe 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
Bronze Medal 1500 metres1500 metresThe 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
- World Mile Record - Betty CuthbertBetty CuthbertElizabeth Cuthbert AM, MBE is an Australian athlete, and a fourfold Olympic champion....
- 1964 Olympic1964 Summer OlympicsThe 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...
Gold Medal 400 metres400 metresThe 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
- World 440 yards Record - Middle-distance runners Dave StephensDave StephensDavid Eldon Stephens is a retired male javelin thrower from United States, who twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: in 1988 and 1996. He set his personal best with the old javelin type on May 3, 1991 in Knoxville, Tennessee.-Achievements:-References:*...
and Les Perry
Cerutty also helped cyclist
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
Russell Mockridge
Russell Mockridge
Russell Mockridge was a racing cyclist from Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus....
and boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Jimmy Carruthers
Jimmy Carruthers
James "Jimmy" William Carruthers was an Australian boxer, who became world champion in the bantamweight division.-Amateur career:...
during their sporting careers.
Retirement
Cerutty gave up coaching athletes in 1969 and continued to live at his beloved Portsea home - CERES.Described as 'Australia’s most enigmatic, pioneering and controversial athletics coach', he died of motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
in 1975.