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Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle-distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", after his Jarrow, Cram set world records in the 1,500 m, 2,000 m, and Mile run during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to run 1,500 m under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1,500 m gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and the 1,500 m silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.
In 2000, Cram co-founded international children’s charity COCO (Comrades of Children Overseas) with
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In 2008, Cram was appointed Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, replacing Lord Puttnam, Going the extra mile for Sunderland The Guardian (London), 6 November 2008 Steve Cram named new Chancellor University of Sunderland, 23 May 2008 and in 2009 was elected as President of Jarrow & Hebburn Athletics Club. Jarrow Arrow will inspire new generation of athletes Shields Gazette, 28 August 2009
Cram now works as a television presenter and athletics commentator, motivational speaker and athletics coach. In 2021, he was elected as the new president of the British Orienteering Federation.
Capitalising on his Olympic experience, Cram made his major breakthrough in 1982, a year in which Coe and Ovett were largely absent with injuries. Cram took 1,500 m gold at the Commonwealth Games and also the 1982 European Championships in Athens, where he raced to gold after breaking from the field with 600 metres to go following Williamson's fall.
Injury had disrupted Cram in the early part of the 1983 season, but he recovered in time for the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki and just prior to the games beat Coe (who was suffering from an undiagnosed virus at the time) in an 800 m at Gateshead. In a slow final, he strategically beat a large field following Saïd Aouita's break with 500 metres to go. Ovett became trapped in the pack, ultimately finishing fourth, while Cram outkicked Steve Scott and Aouita in the last 200 metres. In a remark made in Cram's presence shortly afterwards which spoke to the depth of British milers, Ovett noted that Britain was the home of the Olympic champion, World champion and World Record holder in the 1,500 m - titles held by Coe, Cram and Ovett respectively.
At Crystal Palace later that summer, Cram won an epic mile race, in which he led Ovett by little more than a metre with 300 metres to go and maintained that lead right to the finishing line. In a 2006 interview, Cram described the race: "It was a cat-and-mouse affair - we both started off running at the back of the field. I beat him by little more than the thickness of a vest."John Gibson "Face to face: Steve Cram" The Sunday Sun, 2 May 2006
In 1984, Cram's season was severely hampered by injury, although he recovered sufficiently to win silver in the 1,500 m at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, behind defending champion Coe.
He came back stronger in 1985, a year in which he was only beaten three times; by Coe at 800 m, McKean at 800 m and Ovett in a road Mile. In the 800 m, not his best event, he beat the reigning 800 m Olympic Champion, Joaquim Cruz, in 1:42.88, the fastest time he was ever to run, off even splits of 51.2 & 51.7. He broke three world records (1,500 m, Mile, 2,000 m) within a 19-day span, Celebrate 19 days of middle distance glory IAAF, 5 June 2010; Retrieved 8 June 2010 and recorded a British All Comers Record over the 1,000 m, running 2:12.88 in windy conditions at Gateshead (the second fastest 1,000 m in history at the time behind Coe's 2:12.18, and now 3rd to Noah Ngeny's 2:11.98). He was the first man to run under 3:30.00 for the 1,500 m, just beating Saïd Aouita in Nice (running 3:29.67 to Aouita's 3:29.71). His mile time of 3:46.32, recorded at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, stood for eight years and, stood as the European record until 2023 when Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 3:43.73. This run was notable for the fact that this was an actual competitive race against Sebastian Coe with the first three laps being below schedule, although pretty even in pace distribution (57.2, 57.3, 58.7), followed by an exceptional last lap (440yds) of 53.2.
While the likes of Coe and Ovett had a devastating sprint finish over the last 100 metres, Cram tended to wind up the speed gradually over the last 300 metres of races, making him very difficult to catch. However, during the 1985 season he said (and indeed demonstrated) that he could win from any position and happily ran near the back of world class fields before unleashing his kick, often with a lap or so to go. This tactic, his elegant, high stepping action and his effortless acceleration made him one of the most exciting middle distance runners to watch.
Cram's good form continued into the 1986 season. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the 800 m, finishing 15 metres clear of Tom McKean and Peter Elliott in 1:43:22 - still the Commonwealth Games record. He followed this up with gold in the 1,500 m and was persuaded to run both events at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. He arrived at the European Championships "just over the edge" as he suggested in David Miller's biography of Coe, "Born to Run". Nevertheless, he won the bronze in the 800 m having been blocked down the back straight by Tom McKean who made his run at the same time as Cram and, though leading into the straight, lacked the zest he showed in the Commonwealth games and was unable to hold off the challenges of McKean and a superlative Coe. Although disappointed by his 800 m defeat Cram bounced back to beat Coe to the gold medal in the 1,500 m. It turned out to be not only Cram's last major medal, but the end of the golden era for British middle distance running.
In 1987, he was no longer the outstanding 1,500 m athlete that he had been in previous years. Having previously been able to win races from any position and at any pace, he was now lacking confidence in his finishing speed, an area in which he had fallen behind some of his main rivals. He was beaten by José Luis González in the European Cup, and although he followed that with an impressive win in the 1,000 m in Stockholm, and won the Dream Mile for the third year running, he finished eighth after leading into the final bend of the 1987 World Championships final in Rome. He had said before the race that his only hope of victory was a fast race, in which he could run the finish out of his opponents, in particular Abdi Bile, the eventual winner. Unhappily for Cram, the pace was slow, and he faded badly in the last 100 metres.
His 1988 season saw him return to better form and he beat Bile in the Oslo Dream Mile in 1988 - his fourth consecutive victory in that race. Having run impressively in the Olympic trials over 800 m and winning in 1:44.16, (opening up an eight-metre gap over Tom McKean in a sprint down the home straight) he was touted as one of the favourites to win the gold medal over 1,500 m at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 until a calf injury just before the games in a 1000 m race hampered his progress. The injury affected his performance at the games and he was eliminated in the heats of the 800 m. He recovered sufficiently to reach the final of the 1,500 m, but could finish only fourth in a close race surprisingly won by Peter Rono.
Injury dogged him throughout his remaining years and although he continued to compete for some time, he never again looked likely to win a major championship. In the 1990 European Athletics Championships, he still finished fifth in the 1,500 m, but in the 1991 World Athletics Championships, he was eliminated in the 1,500 m semi-finals.Various countries' sports books about those championships; there is a book in Finnish about the European Athletics Championships from 1934 to 1990, and about the 1991 World Athletics Championships
He retired from athletics in 1994, and remains the UK record holder over the 2,000 m, with his UK mile record of 3:46.32 having been broken by Josh Kerr in 2024, in a time of 3:45.34.
Cram was the coach of middle-distance runners Laura Weightman, Thomas Lancashire and Ross Murray. In April 2014 Cram joined UK Athletics as an adviser and mentor in the run-up to the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Cram has commentated on athletics events for the BBC since 1999.
At the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, Cram worked for BBC Radio 5 Live. For the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Cram presented coverage throughout the day and commentated on athletics events. At the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, Cram anchored morning coverage of the Games with Hazel Irvine. For the Beijing 2008 Games, Cram had joined the commentary team for athletics events. This was a position he took again for the London 2012 Games, leading the commentary team. He returned to the same position for the Rio 2016 Olympics, Tokyo 2020 Games and Paris 2024 Olympics.
Cram has also worked on multiple Commonwealth Games for the BBC. Cram commentated on the athletics events on the Manchester 2002 Games. At the Melbourne 2006 Games, Cram presented and reported from multiple sports. He returned to the commentary box for the following games: Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022.
Cram was one of the main presenters of the BBC's coverage of the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. Four years later, Cram returned to present and report on the Turin 2006 Games. For the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Cram replaced Dougie Donnelly as the main Curling commentator, working alongside Rhona Martin. This was a position he returned to for the Sochi 2014 Games, this time alongside Jackie Lockhart. For the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, Cram returned again with Martin, Lockhart, Logan Gray and David Murdoch. Cram once again commentated on the curling events at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, with Martin, Lockhart and Gray.
In August 2014, Cram was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.
He is a supporter of Sunderland A.F.C.
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