Derek James Clayton (born 17 November 1942) is a former Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, born in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England and raised in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Biography

Clayton set a marathon world best in the Fukuoka Marathon,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

on 3 December 1967 in 2:09:36.4, in what is considered a classic race, the first marathon race ever run in less than two hours and ten minutes. He went on to break this time at the Antwerp Marathon on 30 May 1969 by more than a minute; this time stood as the world best for nearly another 12 years. His personal best time of 2:08:33.6 is still a world-class marathon time. Clayton represented Australia at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, finishing in 7th place (2:27:23). Four years later, he finished in 13th place (2:19:49) in the same event. Clayton finished second behind Ron Hill in the marathon event at the 1969 AAA Championships. At the 1971 Australian Athletics Championships, he won the marathon in 2:11:08.8. Two years later, in 1973, he won the Australian Athletics Championships marathon again in 2:12:07.6. He also won the marathon in this event in 1967 and 1968. Clayton won 14 marathons in his career. Clayton was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1999.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * *
A history of the Fukuoka International Marathon Championships

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Derek 1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Cumbria Australian male long-distance runners Australian male marathon runners Male marathon runners from Northern Ireland Male long-distance runners from Northern Ireland British male long-distance runners British male marathon runners Olympic male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games World record setters in athletics (track and field) Japan Championships in Athletics winners Australian Athletics Championships winners Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees English male long-distance runners English male marathon runners 20th-century Australian sportsmen