Who is Herb Elliott?
Herb Elliott is an Australian middle-distance runner who won the 1500 metres gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics in world-record time. He was never beaten in a mile or 1500 metres race in senior competition.
Elliott was born in Perth in 1938. He was coached by Percy Cerutty, known for his tough training methods, including running up sand dunes at Portsea in Victoria.
In 1958, he broke the world record for the mile, running 3 minutes 54.5 seconds. He also broke the world record for the 1500 metres.
Olympic champion
At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Elliott won the 1500 metres by a large margin, setting a world record of 3 minutes 35.6 seconds.
He retired from athletics at the age of 22, at the height of his career. He went on to a successful business career.
Elliott carried the Olympic torch into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. He is regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time.
He was later made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his contributions to sport and business.