Colin Robert Reitz (born 6 April 1960) is a male English former track athlete who competed mainly in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

and participated at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

and the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Biography

Born in Clapton, London, Reitz finished third behind

Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metre ...

in the 1 mile event at the 1980 AAA Championships. Shortly afterwards at the 1980 Olympics Games in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, he represented

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in the 3,000 metres steeplechase where he was eliminated in the semifinals. 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 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres steeplechase events, at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. In 1983, Reitz became the British 3000m steeplechase champion after winning the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1983 AAA Championships. He also went on to win the bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the inaugural

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in Helsinki. At the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

he finished fifth in the final. In July 1986, he won a bronze medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, before finishing fourth at the European Championships in August. He set his personal best in the steeplechase with 8:12.11 on 5 September 1986 at a meet in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. His final major competition was the 1987 World Championships, where he was eliminated in the heats. In the

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

world merit rankings, he ranked in the top 10 three times; in 1983 (#4), 1984 (#6) and 1986 (#7).

International competitions

All results regarding 3000m steeplechase unless stated. (#) Indicates overall position achieved in the semis (s) or heats (h).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reitz, Colin 1960 births Living people English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Athletes from London English male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics