Gaylord Lucien D. Silly (; born 20 February 1986) is a French-

Seychellois This article is about the demographic features of the population of Seychelles, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 9 ...

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

who represents Seychelles internationally. Born in

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ent ...

, France, to a Seychelloise mother and a French father, he holds

dual nationality Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...

. His first regional event came in 2007 when he finished fourth in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

at the 2007

Indian Ocean Island Games The Indian Ocean Island Games (french: Jeux des îles de l'océan Indien) is a quadrennial multi-sport event from Indian Ocean island nations. The Games was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and currently gather the is ...

.Gaylord finishes 163rd
. '' Seychelles Nation'' (2008-02-04). Retrieved on 2010-03-30. After finishing 49th at the 2008

Cross Ouest France A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, he took part in the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

as the sole representative of the Seychelles. Before the race, he stated that he wanted to push himself to his limits and said "my ambition is to make my country proud and to run a good race". His time of 43:03 for the 12 km men's race was over eight minutes behind the winner and he finished in 162nd place overall. Silly had been chosen by the

Seychelles Athletics Federation Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

instead of veteran

Simon Labiche Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

because Silly was living comparatively near to the race venue (

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

). Silly ran in the Semi Marathon de Vendome in 2009, running a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

best of 1:10:44,Silly Gaylord

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

. Retrieved on 2010-03-30. and as a result he was selected to represent the Seychelles for a second time, forming part of a Seychellois trio (including Labiche and Simone Zapha) competing at the

2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Birmingham, United Kingdom on 11 October 2009. It was the final event of the International Association of Athletics Federations' 2009 World Athletics Series. Organisation The city of B ...

. He finished in 90th place out of 94 finishers, although his time of 1:11:57 was just enough to beat compatriot Labiche. He returned to the world cross country stage with an appearance at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – again being the country's sole representative in the men's race. He finished in 121st position, over six minutes behind winner

Joseph Ebuya Joseph Ebuya (born 20 June 1987) is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion. Early life and career Ebuya is a rare example of a runner representing the Tu ...

who lapped him. However, Silly did manage to beat the entire four-man team sent by

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Silly also came home fifth, and last, place in his

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

heat at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

. His time of 1:54.93 minutes was less than five seconds off

Antonio Manuel Reina Antonio Manuel Reina Ballesteros (born 13 June 1981 in Osuna, Seville) is a Spanish middle distance runner. He specializes in the 800 metres. Competition record Personal bests *400 metres - 45.98 s (2005) *800 metres - 1:43.83 min (2002) *15 ...

's winning time, but was enough for a new national indoor record. He represented the Seychelles at the

2013 Jeux de la Francophonie The 2013 Jeux de la Francophonie, also known as ''VIIèmes Jeux de la Francophonie'' ( French for ''7th Francophone Games''), were held in Nice, France, from September 6-15. This was the second edition of the games to be hosted in France and the fi ...

and came seventh in the

with a personal best of 9:08.47 minutes. On the regional scene, he finished twelfth in the steeplechase at the 2014 African Championships. When not running competitively, Silly works as a

tree surgeon An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dendr ...

in France.38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Biographical Start Lists

(2010). Retrieved on 2010-03-30.

References

External links

*
Athlete images on Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silly, Gaylord 1986 births Living people Seychellois people of French descent Seychellois male middle-distance runners Seychellois male steeplechase runners Seychellois male cross country runners