Neil Gourley (born 7 February 1995) is a Scottish

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

specialising in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. He won the silver medal in the event at both the

2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships The 20th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 21 to 23 March 2025 in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, at the newly built Nanjing's Cube gymnasium in the Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park. Nanjing was originally due to host the ...

and the 2023 European Indoor Championships and bronze at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships. Gourley is the European indoor record holder for the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

and the British indoor record holder for the 1500 m. He is a three-time national champion (1500 m).

Career

Neil Gourley won the bronze medal in the

at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships. He competed collegiately for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

, where in 2018 he anchored the men's

distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event ...

team to an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship title. In 2019, Gourley reached the final of his specialist event in front of the home crowd at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

but was unable to compete in it due an illness. On 25 February 2023, the 28-year-old broke Josh Kerr's British indoor 1500 m record with a time of 3:32.48 for a win at the World Indoor Tour Final in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, replacing him at No.8 on the respective world all-time list. Gourley's success secured him also overall 1500 m World Indoor Tour victory, after his mile win in

Boston, MA Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and runner-up mile finish in

New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

(with a European indoor record over the distance) earlier that month. In March, he claimed the silver medal in his signature event at the

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

behind only

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Asserson Ingebrigtsen (born 19 September 2000) is a Norwegian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner who is the world record holder in the short track 1500 metres, short track Mile run, mile, 2000 ...

, 3:34.23 to 3:33.95. Later that year in May, Gourley opened his outdoor season with a 5000m personal best of 13:16. After winning the 1500 metres gold medal at the

2024 British Athletics Championships The 2024 British Athletics Championships (sponsored by Microplus Timing) is the national championships in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, which also served as a qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The even ...

, Gourley was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

where he finished 10th in the final. In Birmingham on 15 February 2025, he broke the British men's indoor 1000m record in a time of two minutes 16.74 seconds.

Achievements

Gourley and Ingebrigtsen at 2023 European Indoor Championships

International competitions

¹Did not start in the final

Personal bests

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, 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 a ...

– 1:44.82 (

Pfungstadt Pfungstadt () is a town of 25,029 inhabitants (2020), in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. History The town was first mentioned in 785 as property of the Monastery of Lorsch and got its town rights in 1886 due to ...

2022) ** 800 metres indoor – 1:47.04 (

Clemson, SC Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

2018) **

1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It consists of two and a half laps around an outdoor 400 m track, or five laps around an indoor 200 m track. The 1000 ...

indoor – 2:18.68 (

Blacksburg, VA Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg and the surrounding county is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia T ...

2021) *

– 3:30.60 (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

2023) ** 1500 metres indoor – 3:32.48 (

2023) *

One mile The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field' ...

– 3:47.74 (

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

2024) ** One mile indoor – 3:49.46 (

2023) European record ** 3000 metres indoor – 7:48.94 (

Fayetteville, AR Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

2022) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 13:11.44 (

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

2023) ** 5000 metres indoor – 13:16.24 (

2022)

Circuit performances

Wins and titles

World Athletics Indoor Tour The World Athletics Indoor Tour, formerly the IAAF World Indoor Tour, is an annual series of indoor track and field meetings, held since 2016. It was designed to create a Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field events, to raise th ...

1500 m overall winner: 2023 **

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

: Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Mile), Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final (1500m, )

National titles

British Athletics Championships The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in track and field held in the United Kingdom, and are organised by British Athletics. The event has doubled as the main trials meet for international team selection for maj ...

: 2019 *

British Indoor Athletics Championships The British Indoor Athletics Championships is the annual national championship in indoor track and field for the United Kingdom, organised by UK Athletics. Eight track and five field events for both men and women are contested, with athletes being i ...

** 1500 metres: 2019, 2023

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gourley, Neil 1995 births Living people Athletes from Glasgow Scottish male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners British Athletics Championships winners Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Virginia Tech Hokies men's track and field athletes Commonwealth Games athletes for Scotland Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Olympic athletes for Great Britain 21st-century Scottish sportsmen World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists