Joseph Laughlin Stewart (22 June 1943 – 31 May 2025) was a Scottish distance runner, and an inductee in the

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame of Scotland, set up in 2002. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and National Museums Scotland. It is also funded ...

and competed for

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

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

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

Stewart finished third behind

Maurice Herriott Maurice Herriott (born 8 October 1939) is a British former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase and competed at two Olympic Games. Biography Herriott was born in Great Wyrley, South Staffordshire. Herr ...

in the steeplechase event at the 1966 AAA Championships and the following year finished third again but this time in the 6 miles event behind

Jürgen Haase Jürgen Haase (born 19 January 1945) is a former track and field athlete and Olympian, who, competing for East Germany, was among the world's best long distance track runners in the 1960s and 1970s. Twice during this period, in 1966 and 1969, ...

and Lajos Mecser at the 1967 AAA Championships but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete was considered the British 6 miles champion. Stewart's greatest athletic achievement was competing at the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

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 ...

, where he won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres. He defeated

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO, Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one o ...

of Australia in the final. Stewart finished second behind

Dave Bedford David Colin Bedford OBE (born 30 December 1949) is an English former long-distance runner, whose athletic career spanned the early 1970s. Post-retirement, he served as race director of the London Marathon until 2012, and is the Chairman of the I ...

in the 10,000 metres event at the 1972 AAA Championships and shortly afterwards at the 1972 Olympics Games 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 ...

, he represented

in the 10,000 metres event. He died on 31 May 2025, at the age of 81.

References

External links

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archive
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Lachie Stewart wins gold medal

Athletics: New age of the Stewarts
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Lachie 1943 births 2025 deaths Scottish male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Olympic athletes for Great Britain Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics