Colin Kirkham (born 30 October 1944) is a male British retired

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 ...

who competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Biography

Kirkham studied Mathematics at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where he was a member of

St Cuthbert's Society St Cuthbert's Society, colloquially known as Cuth's, is a colleges of Durham University, college of Durham University. It was founded in 1888 for students who were not attached to the existing colleges. St Cuthbert's Society is a Bailey college, ...

and won the Northern Counties Marathon Championship. He taught Maths at

Arley, Warwickshire Arley is a civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The parish includes two settlements, New Arley and Old Arley. Old Arley is to the west of the Bourne Brook and the Birmingham to Peterborough Line, and New A ...

and at Coleshill School, Warwickshire. Kirkham represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

at the 1972 Olympics in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The following year Kirkham finished third behind Ian Thompson in the marathon event at the

1973 AAA Championships The 1973 AAA Championships was the 1973 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1973 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engla ...

. He represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the marathon event, at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games () were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". T ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand and would podium on two more occasions at the

1975 AAA Championships The 1975 AAA Championships was the 1975 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 1 to 2 August 1975 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The Nationa ...

and the 1977 AAA Championships. In December 1981 he won the

Tiberias Marathon The Tiberias Marathon is an annual marathon road race held along the Sea of Galilee in Israel. At approximately 200 meters below sea level, this is the lowest course in the world. The competition was first held in 1977, and also hosts the annual I ...

in Israel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkham, Colin 1944 births Living people Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games British male long-distance runners British male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes from Nottingham Commonwealth Games athletes for England British mathematics educators Schoolteachers from Nottinghamshire English male long-distance runners English male marathon runners