• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Great Britain’s 400 meter Glory Days and Roger Black

You are here: Home / 400 meters / Great Britain’s 400 meter Glory Days and Roger Black
0
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

May 31, 2010 by Jimson Lee 3 Comments

When was the last time you had 4 Americans AND 3 British athletes in a 400 meters Olympic or World Championship Final? 

POP QUIZ:  Who was the lone non-American and non-Brit in that race?

How is 4 athletes possible?

Enter the “Michael Johnson Rule” of 1997.  When he strained his quad in the Donovan Bailey – Michael Johnson showdown in post Atlanta 1997, he missed the USATF Nationals which was the selection for Worlds.  Since the IAAF knew he was a big draw for the meet, they amended the rule to allow past champions back.  This is very similar to a Golf Major like the Masters or British Open.

MJ won that race in 44.12.  Not bad considering injuring his quad on June 1 of that year.

6th IAAF World Championships In Athletics Athína 01/10-Aug-97

Official Results – 400 METRES – Men – Final

Tuesday, August 05, 1997 – 20:40 
Pos  Lane    Athlete Country Mark      
1  4    Johnson Michael USA 44.12     
2  7    Kamoga Davis UGA 44.37   (NR) 
3  3    Washington Tyree USA 44.39   (PB) 
4  5    Richardson Mark GBR 44.47   (PB) 
5  6    Young Jerome USA 44.51     
6  2    Thomas Iwan GBR 44.52     
7  8    Pettigrew Antonio USA 44.57   (SB) 
8  1    Baulch Jamie GBR 45.22    

Rewind back one year to 1996.  We all know who won the 400m Gold in Atlanta.    So who came second?

Roger Black, who is missing in the above list.  Add him to the 4x400m relay pool, and …

Who the heck is Roger Black?

.

If you like Track & Athletics books, especially the 400 meters, then you’ll love his autobiography How Long’s the Course?.  UK residents can buy it here from Amazon.co.uk.  You can easily buy it used for a $0.01 plus shipping (see Amazon ad).  That’s what I did.

See also  2007 Harry Jerome Womens 4x400m Relay

His PB is 44.37 set in Lausanne prior to Atlanta 1996.  His silver medal from Atlanta was one of the highlights in his long career.

Listen to the Podcast with Iwan Thomas for a great read on the GB rivalry (along with Jamie Baulch and Mark Richardson) back in the mid 1990’s.  Where are they now?

Another big moment in Roger Black’s career was winning the 4x400m relay in 1991 in a rare defeat from the Americans.

His resume and longevity is impressive:

His initial 1986 Commonwealth Gold in the 400m, a Silver in the 1987 Rome WC 4x400m relay, the great 4x400m relay Gold in 1991 Tokyo WC (plus a Silver in the individual 400m), the 4x400m Bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, two Silvers in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in both 400m and 4x400m relay, and finally the upgraded Gold medal in the 1997 Athens WC 4x400m relay thanks to the honesty of Antonio Pettigrew.

Roger Black was definitely NOT a “Flash in the Pan”… something or someone who disappoints by failing to deliver anything of value, despite a showy beginning.

ANSWER TO POP QUIZ: Davis Kamoga of Uganda 2nd in 44.37!

Category icon400 meters,  Olympic History,  Track & Field Tag icon1987 Rome,  1991 Tokyo,  1992 Barcelona,  1996 Atlanta,  1997 Athens,  4x400,  4x400m,  Antonio Pettigrew,  Davis Kamoga,  Iwan Thomas,  Jamie Baulch,  Jerome Young,  Mark Richardson,  Michael Johnson,  Roger Black,  Tyree Washington

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Doug Gray says

    September 3, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Hi Jimson,

    I was hoping you could answer a question for me regards Clyde Hart Training versus Mike Smith training.
    I have downloaded Clyde Hart’s 400m training and the ‘fall’ or pre christmas works includes mostly track intervals, with aerobic runs only being 1 mile warm / warm downs. His credentials are obviously as good as it gets in the USA so you would asume this is the only way to train 400m sept – dec. However Mike Smith, arguably the UK’s greatest 400m coach (Iwan Thomas, Roger black, Kriss Akabussi e.t.c) says that pre christmas work should consist mainly of hills in the woods or sand dunes, aerobic runs, circuits, weights, plyometrics e.t.c with no or little track sessions at all until December in order to build a good aerobic base before the anaerobic interval works starts.
    They are both experts with success so how can the training be so different with the same goal – your best one lap in the summer???

    Reply
    • Jimson Lee says

      September 3, 2010 at 11:03 pm

      @Doug – with the major meets over, I am currently on vacation, but I will answer your question when I get back!

      Reply
    • Jimson Lee says

      September 16, 2010 at 8:43 am

      @Doug – 1st, Clyde Hart has great HIGH SCHOOl prospects coming to him. They have sub 21 sec 200m guys so they already have good speed. 2nd, the UK system likes the old fashion lactic based workouts. Have you had a chance to listen to the Jared Deacon interview?

      It all comes down to the short to long or long to short dogma. If you saw Tyler Christopher’s workouts, you’ll be amazed at the short distances… not the traditional high volume workouts, because he would just break down.

      I still feel a good fall GPP base (Sept/Oct) is important. You need to do the work.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recommended

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbs-aWxyLk

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (2)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (4)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Private Coaching - Monthly Plan $600.00 $525.00
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Oregon22 Coaches Club now Online
  • IFAC 2022: The Return of In-Person Conferences (with Virtual option)
  • Here is our 400m Discussion Recording… over 2 Hours Long
  • The Best Free Coaching Book – post Beijing 2022 Olympics
  • The Ultimate 400m Track Webinar for Coaches & Athletes
  • NACAC Athletics Coaching Science Series 2022
  • Top Six 400m Predictor Workouts (Number 4 is my Favourite)
  • Best 6 Podcasts for 2021 (and Beyond)
  • Why Karsten Warholm’s 45.94 400mH WR is my Highlight of 2021
  • Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}