Stephen "Steve" Cram CBE (born October 14, 1960) is a British track and athlete athlete. Together with compatriots Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the dominant long-distance runners in the world during the 1980s. Nicknamed "Jarrow Arrow", after his hometown, Cram set a world record in 1500 m, 2000 m and miles over a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first person to run 1500 m in under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won a 1500m gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and a 1500m silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.
In 2008 Cram was appointed Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, replacing Lord Puttnam, and in 2009 was elected President Jarrow & Hebburn Athletics Club.
Cram now works as a television presenter and athletic commentator, motivational speaker and athletic trainer.
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In 1980, Cram won his place in the British Olympic team after finishing in 2nd place for Steve Ovett on the mile at Crystal Palace. The race has been marked as run-off between Cram and Scottish billionaire Graham Williamson for last place (a selection decision critically criticized by Ovett in the 1984 autobiography). Cram, aged 19, reached the final 1500m at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where Ovett and Sebastian Coe famously compete for the gold medal. Cram finishes in eighth place.
Utilizing the Olympic experience, Cram made a major breakthrough in 1982, the year in which Coe and Ovett were largely absent due to injury. Cram took the 1500m gold at the Commonwealth Games and also the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he ran into gold after breaking from the field by 600 yards to go following Williamson's fall.
The injury had plagued Cram in the early part of the 1983 season, but he recovered in time for the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki and shortly before the match defeated Coe (who suffered undiagnosed virus at the time) in 800 m at Gateshead. In a slow final, he strategically defeated the big field after SaÃÆ'¯d Aouita break with 500 yards to go. Ovett was caught in the pack, eventually finishing fourth, while Cram beat Steve Scott and Aouita in the last 200 meters. In a statement made before Cram shortly afterwards who spoke to the depths of British milers, Ovett noted that Britain is the home of Olympic champion, World Champion and World Record holder at 1500 m - titles owned by Coe, Cram and Ovett respectively..
At Crystal Palace that summer, Cram won the epic mile race, where he led Ovett by a little over a meter by 300 yards to go and defend that lead to the finish line. In a 2006 interview, Cram described the race: "It was a cat and mouse thing - we both started running in the back of the field, I hit it a little more than the thickness of the vest."
In 1984, the Cram season was hampered by injuries, though he recovered enough to win silver at 1500 m at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, behind Coe's defending champion.
He returned strongly in 1985, a year in which he was only beaten three times; by Coe at 800m, McKean at 800m and Ovett on Mile Road. In 800m, not his best, he beat Olympic 800m champion Joaquim Cruz in 1: 42.88, the fastest time he ever run, even split 51.2 & amp; 51.7. He broke three world records (1500 m, Mile, 2000 m) in a span of 19 days, and recorded a 1000 m All Comers Record, running 2: 12.88 in windy conditions at Gateshead (the second fastest 1000 m in history at the time behind Coe 2: 12.18). He was the first person to run under 3: 30.00 to 1500 m, just defeating SaÃÆ'¯d Aouita in Nice (run 3: 29.67 to Aouita 3: 29.71). Travel time 3: 46.32, recorded at Bislett Stadium in Oslo, stood for eight years and, in 2018, is still a European record. The match is well-known for the fact that this is a real competitive competition against Sebastian Coe with the first three laps under schedule, though quite even in the speed distribution (57.2, 57.3, 58.7), followed by an incredible last round (440yds) of 53.2.
While the likes of Coe and Ovett had a sprint finish that destroyed over the last 100 meters, Cram tended to slow down gradually over the last 300 meters of the race, making it very difficult to catch. However, during the 1985 season he said (and did show) that he could win from any position and gladly ran near the back of the world-class pitch before kicking off his kick, often with one or more turns to go. This tactic, his elegant and high step action and light acceleration make him one of the most exciting long-distance runners to watch.
Cram's good form continued into the 1986 season. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the 800m, finishing 15 yards from Tom McKean and Peter Elliott at 1:43:22 - still a Commonwealth Games record. He followed this with gold in 1500 m and was persuaded to run both events at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. He arrived at the European Championship "right on the edge" as he suggested in Coe Davide's biography, "Born to Run". Nevertheless, he won a bronze in the 800m that had been blocked on the back straight by Tom McKean who made his run at the same time as Cram and, although heading straight, lacked the zeal he showed in the Commonwealth game and was unable to resist McKean's challenge. and Coe superlatives. Despite being disappointed with the 800m defeat, Cram bounced back to beat Coe to a gold medal in 1500m. Apparently not only Cram's last major medal, but the end of the golden era for England's medium range running.
In 1987, he was no longer a remarkable athlete of 1500m he had experienced in previous years. Having previously been able to win races from any position and at any speed, he now lacks confidence in his finishing pace, the area where he lags behind some of his main rivals. He was beaten by Josà ©  © Luis GonzÃÆ'¡lez in the European Cup, and although he followed it with an impressive win at 1000m in Stockholm, and won Dream Mile for the third year running, he finished eighth after leading to the final of the final corner of the 1987 World Championships at Rome. He said before the race that his only hope of victory was a fast race, in which he could finish the finish of his opponents, especially Abdi Bile, the eventual winner. Unfortunately for Cram, his speed was slow, and he faded badly within the last 100 yards.
His 1988 season saw him return to a better form and he beat Bile at the Oslo Dream Mile in 1988 - his fourth consecutive victory in the race. After a memorable run in Olympic trials over 800 m and winning at 1: 44,16, (opening the eight-meter gap over Tom McKean in a straight-home sprint) he was touted as one of the favorites to win a gold medal over 1500 m at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 until a calf injury before the match in the 1000m race stalled his progress. Injuries affected his appearance in the match and he was knocked out in the heat of 800 m. He recovered enough to reach the final 1500 m, but could finish only the fourth in a close race that was surprisingly won by Peter Rono.
Injuries follow him for the rest of the year and although he continues to compete for some time, he never again appears to be winning a major championship. At the 1990 European Athletics Championships, he still finished fifth in the 1500m, but at the 1991 Athletics World Championships, he was eliminated in the 1500m semi-final.
He retired from athletics in 1994 and remained the British record holder for more than a mile and 2000 m.
Cram is a mid-range runner coach, Laura Weightman, Thomas Lancashire, and Ross Murray. In April 2014, Cram joined British Athletics as an advisor and mentor at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Maps Steve Cram
Television career
Cram is now working as a television presenter and athletic commentator especially for BBC Sport and as a motivational speaker. She starred alongside British Olympic gold medalist Sally Gunnell and Adam Eason in the primetime TV series BBC 2006 Run for Glory helped runners and participants overcome the psychological barriers to running the London Marathon. He is the BBC's premier commentator for the Athletic event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Cram has also been presented as part of three Winter Olympics - Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 - after replacing Dougie Donnelly as the main Curling commentator in 2010.
Personal life
Cram has been married to Karen for years, but they divorced in 2006 and since then he lives with former Allison Curbishley at Northumberland. He has two children, Josie and Marcus, who have been underage success. Cram has one sibling, a younger brother of Kevin, who died in the fall of the 39-year-old when out for a run in Cardiff in 2001.
In August 2014, Cram was one of 200 public figures who signed a letter to The Guardian against Scottish independence ahead of a September referendum on the issue.
Awards
Cram was elected as the BBC Sports Personality of 1983. He was appointed Member of the Royal Order of England (MBE) in 1986 and Commander of the Royal Order of the United Kingdom (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Award for sports services..
Personal bests
References
External links
- Profile - Steve Cram Professional Sports Group
- Our Chancellor - Steve Cram MBE University Sunderland
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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