Latest news with #RogerBlack
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Great Britain's 4×400 relay team savours ‘really special' gold medal after 28-year wait
A member of Great Britain's men's 4x400m relay squad from the 1997 World Athletics Championships says receiving their gold medals 28 years after the race was a 'really special' moment. Roger Black finally received his gold medal alongside team-mates Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton on Saturday at London's Diamond League meeting, in front of a sold-out 60,000-capacity. Advertisement The 1997 Athens race had been won by the American team, who were later stripped of their golds due to an anti-doping violation by team member Antonio Pettigrew. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Black said not winning the race 'definitely affected' the team but being able to celebrate almost three decades later was 'more special' as they were able to share the moment with their families and children, many of whom had not been born in 1997. 'Also, more importantly, we shared it with 60,000 British fans in there and a lot of them supported us back in the day,' added Black, who also won gold with the British team in Tokyo in the 4x400m at the World Championships in 1991. 'I think pulling that together, it was actually a surprisingly emotional moment and we loved it. It was really special.' The moment was poignant for Black, who underwent successful live-saving surgery earlier this year to replace his aortic valve and repair his aortic root, the main vessel that transports blood from the heart. The results of the 1997 race were changed in 2008, when U.S. runner Pettigrew admitted to doping between 1997 and 2003. In 2010, the former sprinter was found dead at the age of 42 in his locked car with an autopsy saying he died by suicide after an overdose. 'If there was an option of giving this gold medal to him (Pettigrew), I'd rather him have the gold medal than him taking his life — his life is far more important to me than me having this gold medal,' said Great Britain's Baulch, per the Telegraph. Saturday also saw the UK government confirm it will 'provide significant funding' and be 'backing a bid' to host the 2029 World Athletics and Para Athletics Championships. (Top image: Mark Richardson, Jamie Baulch, Roger Black, Iwan Thomas and Mark Hylton (l-r) receive their gold medals:)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
28-year gold medal wait affected 4x400m team
Roger Black says the 28-year wait for the Great Britain's men's 4x400m relay squad to get their gold medals from the 1997 World Athletics Championships "affected" the team but it was "special" to finally receive them. Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch and Mark Richardson - plus Mark Hylton, who ran in the heats - finished second to the USA at the event, which was held in Athens. The Americans were later stripped of the title as a result of an anti-doping violation by team member Antonio Pettigrew and the British line-up were upgraded to world champions. "It was definitely a moment taken away from us and it definitely affected us," Black - who also won gold in the 4x400m relay at the 1991 World Championships - told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I can certainly say it particularly affected Jamie, Ewan and Mark, and I know that, and me. For them, it was that they hadn't had that moment. I had had it six years earlier." Englishmen Black, Richardson and Hylton plus Welsh duo Thomas and Baulch were belatedly presented with their gold medals at Saturday's Diamond League meeting at a sold-out London Stadium. "It's been hanging over us for a very, very long time. I mean, 28 years is a long time so yesterday really completed it. It was great," added Black. "In some ways, it was more special because we were there with our families and our kids, who obviously weren't born back then. "I think Jamie had a baby then but we were able to share it with our families and you don't get to do that, do you? "Also, more importantly, we shared it with 60,000 British fans in there and a lot of them supported us back in the day. "I think pulling that together, it was actually a surprisingly emotional moment and we loved it. It was really special." Cherry Alexander, UK Athletics' strategic lead for major events, said: "We're proud to be able to give these athletes their moment in front of a home crowd. "It's a chance to recognise not just their talent, but the values they stood for. This medal means even more because of how long they've waited for it."
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
British men collect world relay golds 28 years late from disqualified US team
Britain's men's 4x400m relay team were presented with their gold medals from the 1997 world championships at London's Diamond League meeting on Saturday having been elevated from silver after the belated disqualification of the US team. The US were stripped of the title won in Athens when Antonio Pettigrew confessed in 2008 to doping between 1997 and 2003. The US also lost their 2000 Olympic title. A laborious process of investigation, appeal and reallocation followed, culminating in Saturday's presentation by World Athletics president Seb Coe to Roger Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton (who ran in the heats). The former athletes were giving a rousing welcome by the 60,000 sellout crowd, who then stood for a very belated national anthem. 'We're proud to be able to give these athletes their moment in front of a home crowd. It's a chance to recognise not just their talent, but the values they stood for. This medal means even more because of how long they've waited for it,' said Cherry Alexander, UK Athletics' strategic lead for major events. Pettigrew was found dead at the age of 42 in 2010 in his locked car in the United States, with an autopsy report saying he died by suicide after an overdose. Earlier on Saturday, the British government confirmed its support for bids to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, last held in London in 2017 in a regularly sold-out Olympic Stadium. 'Bringing the World Athletics Championships to the UK would be a moment of great national pride, building on our global reputation for hosting memorable sporting events that showcase the very best talent,' prime minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. 'Hosting these championships would not only unlock opportunities for UK athletes but it would inspire the next generation to get involved and pursue their ambitions.' The UK will also bid for the 2029 World Para Athletics championships, with a plan to hold events outside London.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Roger Black finally receives gold medal after 28-year wait for justice
Just five months after life-saving heart surgery, Roger Black returned to centre stage at the 60,000-sell out London Diamond League on Saturday to collect a second World Championship gold. The 4x400m Great Britain relay team of 1997, which also included Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton, were belatedly upgraded to gold after the American sprinter Antonio Pettigrew admitted doping, but had never previously received their rightful medals. That changed at the London Stadium when, to a standing ovation, gold medals were presented by World Athletics president Lord Coe and God Save The King rang out inside the arena that also hosted the 2012 London Olympics. In what has become the world's biggest single day athletics event, Georgia Hunter Bell and Charlie Dobson later followed up with superb British victories in the women's 800m and men's 400m. Charlie Dobson what a finish 🤯 Powering through to take the men's 400m final in a new personal best of 44.14s 🙌 @BritAthletics #LondonDL — Team GB (@TeamGB) July 19, 2025 The ever popular Black, who was also part of the British team that won the 4x400m World Championship gold in 1991, revealed that he is still recovering well following major surgery in February to have a new heart valve and part of his aorta – the main vessel that transports blood from the heart – removed. Black, who turns 60 next year, spent 12 hours under anaesthetic in Southampton General Hospital. 'It was really tough,' he said. 'Now I feel great and much better. I'm not 100 per cent there, but pretty good.' Pettigrew admitted taking performance enhancing drugs in 2008 at the trial of the coach Trevor Graham, and died by suicide in 2010. 'If there was an option of giving this gold medal to him, I'd rather him have the gold medal than him taking his life – his life is far more important to me than me having this gold medal,' said Baulch. Thomas said that it was a 'shame' that it had taken so long for the British team to receive their medals but was happy that it meant his six-year-old son, Teddy, could be present. 'My mum and dad are pretty elderly now – they're up in the box,' he said. 'For them to be able to see the moment I should have had with the boys 28 years ago, in front of a British crowd, felt really special.' Hunter Bell, who produced one of the fairytale Olympic stories last summer by going from running parkrun months earlier to making the 1500m podium, took her second Diamond League win of the summer over 800m. With training partner Keely Hodgkinson still yet to race since winning Olympic gold over that same distance, Hunter Bell is emerging as a major threat at the World Championship in September. 'You've obviously got to just look strategically at the events,' said Hunter Bell, who is considering running both the 1500m and 800m. Hunter Bell, whose winning time of 1min 56.74sec is the second-fastest in the world this year, said that Hodgkinson was 'working her way back' following the hamstring injury that has curtailed her season. Georgia Hunter Bell takes first in the women's 800m with 1:56:74, her season best! 👏 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 19, 2025 On a day when the Government pledged £45 million of public money for a bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029, Dobson upset British team-mate Matthew Hudson-Smith to win the 400m in 44.14sec. Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles was also beaten by Oblique Seville in the 100m while Josh Kerr, Britain's Olympic 1500m champion, lost out to the 18-year-old Kenyan sensation Phanuel Koech. Kerr, though, was bullish about British chances of keeping the world 1500m title following his win in Budapest in 2023 and Jake Wightman's triumph in 2022. 'The title lives here and it will continue to live here for the next year,' he said. Max Burgin also finished third in the 800m, running what was the third fastest ever time by a Briton in 1min 42.35sec.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
British relay team handed gold medals 28 years after they were denied by USA team disqualified for anti-doping violation
The team of Roger Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch and Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton finished second to the USA at the Athens meet, before the 'winners' were stripped of the gold medal after an anti-doping violation by Antonio Pettigrew. So the British team were handed their medals 28 years later at Saturday's Diamond League meeting at a sold-out London Stadium. "We're proud to be able to give these athletes their moment in front of a home crowd," said Cherry Alexander, UK Athletics' strategic lead for major events. "It's a chance to recognise not just their talent, but the values they stood for. This medal means even more because of how long they've waited for it."
