Bruce Field (athlete)

Bruce William Field (born 22 January 1947) is an Australian former athlete who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games. He specialised in sprint races, hurdles and the long jump.

Bruce Field

Personal information
Birth name	Bruce William Field
Born	22 January 1947 Melbourne, Australia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 ^1⁄2 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Sprint / Hurdles / Long jump
Club	St. Stephens Harriers
Medal record Men's Athletics British Commonwealth Games 1974 Christchurch 400 m hurdles

Field was born in Melbourne and trained at St. Stephens Harriers in Mount Waverley.

Career

At the 1972 Summer Olympics he took part in both the long jump and 400 metres hurdles.[1] The only Australian in the long jump competition, he finished in 15th position with a leap of 7.76m, finishing 3 cm short of a place in the final. He was in the fourth heat for the 400 metres hurdles, which was won by eventual gold medalist John Akii-Bua. Field placed fourth and was eliminated from the competition.[2]

In 1974 he was the national champion in the 400 metres hurdles and in the same year won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles event, behind England's Alan Pascoe, at the British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. His time of 49.32 set in Christchurch remained a national record for 20 years. He also had top five finishes in the 400 metres and long jump.[3][4]

Post-athletics

While competing in athletics, Field also studied for a PhD at the University of Melbourne.[5]

He is now an Associate Professor in the Monash University Department of Mechanical Engineering.[6]

References

1. "Australian athletes named for Munich Olympics". The Canberra Times. 28 March 1972. p. 32. Retrieved 26 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Munich Games: Poor start for Australia in athletics". The Canberra Times. 1 September 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 26 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Games detail". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1974. p. 8. Retrieved 26 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Commonwealth Games results". The Canberra Times. 30 January 1974. p. 27. Retrieved 26 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
5. Harrison, Greta (21 November 2011). "MSE alumni in the sporting history books". The Melbourne Engineer. University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
6. "The sixth sense - Science". The Age. 7 June 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2017.

External links

• Bruce Field at Sports Reference