Max Robertson (athlete)

Maximilian Robertson (born 27 December 1963) is a male English former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympic Games and the 1992 Olympic Games. He also won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. He won five AAA Championships titles and four UK Championship titles.

Max Robertson
Personal information
NationalityEnglish
Born (1963-12-27) 27 December 1963
Weymouth, Dorset
Sport
SportAthletics
ClubHaringey AC, London
Belgrave Harriers, Wimbledon
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
1986 Edinburgh 400 m hurdles

Career

Robertson was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. He finished second to Ahmed Hamada of Burundi at the 1985 AAA Championships in 50.16 secs, and in his first season running below 50 seconds, he achieved his season's best with 49.75 on 30 August 1985 in Budapest, to be the second ranked 400 metres hurdler in the UK behind Mark Holtom. He would go on to rank in the UK top three for eight consecutive seasons (1985-1992).[1]

Robertson won both the UK Championships and AAA Championships titles in 1986, running a personal best of 49.53 at the latter. At the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the silver medal for England in a time of 49.77, behind Phil Beattie of Northern Ireland.[2][3][4] At the European Championships in Stuttgart, he reached the semi-finals, running 50.06.

Robertson retained both the UK and AAAs titles in 1987. He tied with Kriss Akabusi (in Akabusi's first season at 400m hurdles) at the UK Championships in 49.56, before winning the AAA Championship title in 49.51. At the World Championships in Rome, he ran 49.73 to reach the semi-finals, where he was eliminated in 49.90.[5] 1987 also saw him improve his personal best to 49.35.

Robertson won his third AAA title at the 1988 AAA Championships/Olympic trials in 50.23 secs, earning Olympic selection. At the Seoul Olympics, he was eliminated in the heats with 50.67. 1989 saw him win his third UK title and fourth AAAs title.[6]

Robertson reached his peak at the 1990European Championships in Split, running his lifetime best of 49.25 in the semi-finals, to miss the final by just one-one hundredth of a second.[7] He won his fourth UK title and fifth AAA title in 1991, running a season's best of 49.97 at the AAA. Forced out of the 1991 World Championships through injury, he concluded his international career by competing at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he failed to finish in the heats.

Personal life

Robertson is married to Elaine Robertson and together they have two daughters; Clara Rose (Feb 1999) and Eleanor Jayne (Oct 2001).

Competition record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
Representing  England
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 2nd 49.77
Representing  Great Britain
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 11th (sf) 50.06
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 15th (sf) 49.90 (49.73 in heat)
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 24th (h) 50.67
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 6th (sf) 49.25
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain heats DNF
National Championships
1985 AAA Championships London, UK 2nd 50.16
1986 UK Championships Cwmbran, UK 1st 49.99
AAA Championships London, UK 1st 49.52
1987 UK Championships Derby, UK 1st 49.56
AAA Championships London, UK 1st 49.51
1988 AAA Championships (Olympic trials) Birmingham, UK 1st 50.23
1989 UK Championships Jarrow, UK 1st 50.50
AAA Championships Birmingham, UK 1st 50.30
1990 AAA Championships Birmingham, UK 2nd 50.22
1991 UK Championships Cardiff, UK 1st 50.33
AAA Championships Birmingham, UK 1st 49.98
1992 UK Championships Sheffield, UK 2nd 50.13
AAA Championships (Olympic trials) Birmingham, UK 3rd 50.46
(#) Indicates overall position in qualifying heats (h) or semifinals (sf)

References
  1. http://www.gbrathletics.com/tp.gbrm.htm%5B%5D
  2. "1986 Athletes". Team England.
  3. "England team in 1986". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  4. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. http://www.todor66.com/athletics/world/1987/Men_400m_Hurdles.html
  6. http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/
  7. http://www.todor66.com/athletics/europe/1990/Men_400m_Hurdles.html

Max Robertson at Power of 10

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