Robert de Castella
From his facebook page.
Robert Francois de Castella MBE (born 27 February 1957 in Melbourne, Victoria) was a world champion marathon runner. He is popularly known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs and inner calm. He still holds the Oceanian record for the marathon.
Early life
De Castella was born of Swiss-Italian descent and was the oldest of seven children. He came from a family where sport was a way of life. His father Rolet ran marathons at 59 years of age, and his mother Anne was a state-level tennis player. Robert was an outstanding track athlete as a teenager and trained under Pat Clohessy from the age of 14.
Marathon career
1981 Fukuoka Marathon
de Castella first came to international attention when he won the 1981 Fukuoka Marathon in a time of 2:08:18, which was the fastest time recorded for an out-and-back course. It was not initially known to be a world best time, because his time was 5 seconds more than the time set by Alberto Salazar in the 1981 New York City Marathon. It later emerged that the New York course was about 148 metres short. de Castella's time was later ratified as the world record.
1982 Commonwealth Games Marathon
de Castella was the favourite to win the marathon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. At the start of the race, Tanzanian competitors Shahanga and Ikangaa raced to the lead and were 50m ahead of the pack after five minutes. After the 20 km mark, this gap had widened to several hundred meters. By the 23 km mark, Ikangaa had taken the lead from his compatriot, with de Castella in the main pack some 250m behind, but closing. de Castella passed the now tiring Shahanga at the 38 km mark, and in the next kilometer drew level with Ikangaa then took the lead. However Ikangaa was not done yet, and re-took the lead slightly. The duel continued for the remainder of the race. Eventually de Castella pulled away, and won by 80m in a time of 2:09:18, 12 seconds ahead of Ikangaa. Briton Mike Gratton finished 3rd in 2hrs 12min, 6sec, and Shahanga faded to finish 6th. The race finished on the streets of Brisbane, not in the main stadium.
Robert Francois de Castella MBE (born 27 February 1957 in Melbourne, Victoria) was a world champion marathon runner. He is popularly known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs and inner calm. He still holds the Oceanian record for the marathon.
Early life
De Castella was born of Swiss-Italian descent and was the oldest of seven children. He came from a family where sport was a way of life. His father Rolet ran marathons at 59 years of age, and his mother Anne was a state-level tennis player. Robert was an outstanding track athlete as a teenager and trained under Pat Clohessy from the age of 14.
Marathon career
1981 Fukuoka Marathon
de Castella first came to international attention when he won the 1981 Fukuoka Marathon in a time of 2:08:18, which was the fastest time recorded for an out-and-back course. It was not initially known to be a world best time, because his time was 5 seconds more than the time set by Alberto Salazar in the 1981 New York City Marathon. It later emerged that the New York course was about 148 metres short. de Castella's time was later ratified as the world record.
1982 Commonwealth Games Marathon
de Castella was the favourite to win the marathon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. At the start of the race, Tanzanian competitors Shahanga and Ikangaa raced to the lead and were 50m ahead of the pack after five minutes. After the 20 km mark, this gap had widened to several hundred meters. By the 23 km mark, Ikangaa had taken the lead from his compatriot, with de Castella in the main pack some 250m behind, but closing. de Castella passed the now tiring Shahanga at the 38 km mark, and in the next kilometer drew level with Ikangaa then took the lead. However Ikangaa was not done yet, and re-took the lead slightly. The duel continued for the remainder of the race. Eventually de Castella pulled away, and won by 80m in a time of 2:09:18, 12 seconds ahead of Ikangaa. Briton Mike Gratton finished 3rd in 2hrs 12min, 6sec, and Shahanga faded to finish 6th. The race finished on the streets of Brisbane, not in the main stadium.
posted by Friar at Tuesday, October 25, 2011
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