Paul Craig (born 2 September 1953) is a Canadian

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 ...

. Described as an "athlete with a promising future", Craig reached the final at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.

Early life

Craig has a twin brother, John, and they are both graduates of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Craig is married.

Sporting career

Don Mills Collegiate Institute Don Mills Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Don Mills neighbourhood, it serves an ethnically diverse student population of approximately 1000. As of 2017, 67% of students speak a first language other ...

, Craig was high school senior 1,600 metre champion. In 1971, he competed in a international high school track and field invitational, finishing second with a time of 4 minutes, 13.8 seconds, being beaten by Jim Morrison by only 1.3 seconds. In December 1975, Craig ran in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, finishing with a time of 4:02, as he witnessed John Walker set the world record with a time of 3.49.4. In July 1976, Craig was not picked for the Canadian team's European trip. Craig competed in the men's 1,500 metres at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

. During the 1976 Olympics, he ran a time of 3:38 in his heat, which made him the Canadian record holder for the 1,500 meters. In 1979, the twins spent time in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

preparing for 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 ...

, however the Canadians later boycotted the event. During 1981, Craig began to suffer from a "mysterious illness" which doctors believed to be a virus. He suffered from a cough for five months after running a 5,000 metre track race in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, which affected his preparations for 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 ...

. In April 1981, Craig ran in the annual Brooks Shoes Spring Run-off and finished first with a time of 23 minutes 25 seconds, beating last year's time of 24 minutes by teammate Joe Sax. His brother John finished fourth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Paul 1953 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Canadian male middle-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Commonwealth Games athletes for Canada Track and field athletes from Toronto Canadian Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen