Roger Black
Encyclopedia
Roger Anthony Black MBE
(born 31 March 1966) is a retired British
athlete. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres
sprint at both the Olympic Games
and World Championships
, two individual gold medals at the European Championships
, and 4x400 metres relay gold medals at both the World and European Championships. Since retiring from athletics, he has worked as a television presenter and motivational speaker.
, England
, to David (a doctor) and Thelma, with a twin sister Julia, he attended Portsmouth Grammar School, becoming Head Boy in 1983/84. Black has a collection of fifteen medals from major senior athletics competitions to add to his two Europe
an junior championship gold medal
s, including his 1996 Olympic silver which he keeps on his person at all times.
s on 3 July 1996 in Lausanne
, Switzerland
but that was subsequently broken a year later by Iwan Thomas
who shaved 0.01s from Black's time. Fellow GB athlete Mark Richardson
also equalled Black's mark in 1998. Black's time stands as the second fastest of all time recorded by a British runner.
Black was also part of the British 4 x 400 relay team which upset the strong favourites USA to win the gold medal in the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo.
Black came second in the individual 400m in Tokyo to Antonio Pettigrew
. Pettigrew later admitted the use of performance enhancing drugs from 1997 onwards in June 2008. No clear evidence has emerged - and neither has Pettigrew admitted - using performance enhancing drugs during the 1991 season.
His greatest individual achievement in track and field was in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when in the final of the 400m he finished in second place behind Michael Johnson
, winning the silver medal in the process. However, partly due to injuries, he never rediscovered this form, and subsequently retired from the sport only two years later in 1998 after he was not selected for the 1998 European Championships.
Black was coached by Mike Smith and Mike Whittingham, and was sponsored by Reebok
.
admitted to using performance enhancing substances during this period.
On the 7th January 2010, it was announced that Great Britain's 1997 World Championship 4x400m relay team are to be awarded the gold medal due to the disqualification of the USA team.
and he was also rewarded by Queen Elizabeth II
with an MBE
.
with fellow athlete Iwan Thomas
reporting on childhood obesity.
Black has worked regularly for the BBC
on programmes such as Tomorrow's World
and Grandstand
. In 2004 he was one of the celebrities that took part in the pro-am dancing contest Strictly Come Dancing
on BBC One
. In September 2006, he took part in BBC One
's Celebrity MasterChef programme, reaching the final along with Matt Dawson
and Hardeep Singh Kohli
.
Despite being born in Portsmouth, and attending the prestigious Portsmouth Grammar School, Black is a supporter of Southampton FC.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 31 March 1966) is a retired British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
athlete. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
sprint at both the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
and World Championships
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
, two individual gold medals at the European Championships
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
, and 4x400 metres relay gold medals at both the World and European Championships. Since retiring from athletics, he has worked as a television presenter and motivational speaker.
Early life
Born in GosportGosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to David (a doctor) and Thelma, with a twin sister Julia, he attended Portsmouth Grammar School, becoming Head Boy in 1983/84. Black has a collection of fifteen medals from major senior athletics competitions to add to his two Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an junior championship gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s, including his 1996 Olympic silver which he keeps on his person at all times.
Athletics career
He set the national 400 metre record of 44.37 secondSecond
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
s on 3 July 1996 in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
but that was subsequently broken a year later by Iwan Thomas
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE is a sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion...
who shaved 0.01s from Black's time. Fellow GB athlete Mark Richardson
Mark Richardson (athlete)
Mark Ashton Richardson is a British former athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.He competed for Great Britain in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, United States in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the silver medal with his team mates Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch and Roger Black...
also equalled Black's mark in 1998. Black's time stands as the second fastest of all time recorded by a British runner.
Black was also part of the British 4 x 400 relay team which upset the strong favourites USA to win the gold medal in the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo.
Black came second in the individual 400m in Tokyo to Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. He was born in Macon, Georgia....
. Pettigrew later admitted the use of performance enhancing drugs from 1997 onwards in June 2008. No clear evidence has emerged - and neither has Pettigrew admitted - using performance enhancing drugs during the 1991 season.
His greatest individual achievement in track and field was in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when in the final of the 400m he finished in second place behind Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson (athlete)
Michael Duane Johnson is a retired American sprinter. He won four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals. Johnson currently holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 m and 4 x 400 meters relay. He formerly held the world and Olympic record in the 200 m, and the world...
, winning the silver medal in the process. However, partly due to injuries, he never rediscovered this form, and subsequently retired from the sport only two years later in 1998 after he was not selected for the 1998 European Championships.
Black was coached by Mike Smith and Mike Whittingham, and was sponsored by Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
.
1997 World Championships
The World Championships' 4x400m originally saw the USA beat Great Britain by 0.18 seconds in a thrilling finale. Subsequently, US athlete, Antonio PettigrewAntonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. He was born in Macon, Georgia....
admitted to using performance enhancing substances during this period.
On the 7th January 2010, it was announced that Great Britain's 1997 World Championship 4x400m relay team are to be awarded the gold medal due to the disqualification of the USA team.
Awards
In 1995 Southampton University gave Black an honorary degreeHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
and he was also rewarded by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
with an MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
Television career
In 1998 Black appeared on the children's news programme NewsroundNewsround
Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972, and was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically at children...
with fellow athlete Iwan Thomas
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE is a sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion...
reporting on childhood obesity.
Black has worked regularly for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
on programmes such as Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
and Grandstand
Grandstand (BBC)
Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year.Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock...
. In 2004 he was one of the celebrities that took part in the pro-am dancing contest Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. In September 2006, he took part in BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Celebrity MasterChef programme, reaching the final along with Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson
Matthew James Sutherland "Daws" Dawson, MBE is a retired English rugby union player who played scrum half for Wasps and Northampton Saints. During his international career he toured with the British and Irish Lions three times and was part of England's 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side...
and Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli is a British writer and radio and television presenter.-Background:Kohli was born in London and moved to Glasgow in Scotland when he was four. His parents came to the UK from India in the 1960s. The family's roots lie in the Punjab. His mother was a social worker, and his...
.
Writing
Black has written an autobiography, published by Andre Deutsch, entitled How Long's the Course?, ISBN 0-233-99644-3Personal life
Black has been married twice: formerly to French (Martiniquan) athlete Elsa de Vassoigne, with whom he has a daughter, Isabelle (marriage dissolved by divorce), and currently to Julia Burgess, with whom he had twins boys George and Max (Manduvil) in 2006.Despite being born in Portsmouth, and attending the prestigious Portsmouth Grammar School, Black is a supporter of Southampton FC.
Achievements
- 1985
- European Junior Championships - CottbusCottbusCottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 400 metres gold medal - 45.36 seconds
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 3:07.18
- European Junior Championships - Cottbus
- 1986
- Commonwealth Games1986 Commonwealth GamesThe 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...
- EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
- 400 m. gold medal - 45.57 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 3:07.19
- European Championships - StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany- 400 m. gold medal - 44.59 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 2:59.84
- Commonwealth Games
- 1987
- World Championships1987 World Championships in AthleticsThe 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987.-Track:1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995...
- RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- 4 x 400 m. relay silver medal
- World Championships
- 1990
- European Championships - SplitSplit (city)Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
, YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
- 400 m. gold medal - 45.08 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 2:58.22
- European Championships - Split
- 1991
- World Championships1991 World Championships in AthleticsThe 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- 400 m. silver medal - 44.62 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 2:57.53
- World Championships
- 1992
- Summer Olympics1992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
- BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- 4 x 400 m. relay bronze medal - 2:59.73
- Summer Olympics
- 1994
- European Championships - HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- 400 m. silver medal - 45.2 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 2:59.13
- European Championships - Helsinki
- 1996
- Summer Olympics1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
- Atlanta, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 400 m. silver medal - 44.41 sec.
- 4 x 400 m. relay silver medal - 2:56.60
- Summer Olympics
- 1997
- World Championships1997 World Championships in AthleticsThe 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...
- AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal - 2:56.65
- World Championships