Mark Rowland

{{Short description|British }} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Mark Rowland | image = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1963|3|7}} | birth_place = Watersfield, West Sussex, England | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = British (English) | sport = Athletics | event = Steeplechase | club = Brighton Phoenix | height =183 cm | weight = 68 kg | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport | Men's athletics}} {{Medal|Country | {{GBR2}} }} {{Medal|Competition|Olympic Games}} {{Medal|Bronze | 1988 Seoul | 3000 m st.}} {{Medal|Comp|European Championships}} {{Medal|Silver|1990 Split|3000 m st.}} }}

'''Mark Robert Rowland''' (born 7 March 1963) is a male retired distance-runner from the United Kingdom, who specialised in the 3000m steeplechase<ref>{{Cite web |title=Athlete Profile |url=https://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=1424 |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.thepowerof10.info}}</ref> and competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

== Biography == Rowland came third in the men's men's 3000 m Steeplechase at the 1988 Olympics<ref name=oly>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69451 |title=Biographical Information |website=Olympedia |access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref> behind the Kenyan competitors Julius Kariuki (gold) and Peter Koech (silver). His time was 8:07.96 minutes which remains a British record. Rowland became the eighth and, thus far, final British athlete to pick up a medal in the steeplechase event at the Olympics. His post-race interview at the track-side was famous for his quote: {{cquote| I just kept telling myself to dig, dig, dig—and I did it! I've got a bloody medal!<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog.strava.com/wow-the-rowlandtempo-9552/|title = WOW: The #RowlandTempo|date = 11 March 2015}}</ref>}}

Two years later, Rowland was beaten to the gold in a sprint finish in the same event at the European Championships in Split by the Italian athlete Francesco Panetta. He also represented England in the 5,000 metres event, at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/auckland-1990/athletes|title=1990 Athletes|website=Team England}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecgf.com/results/games/3042/19/all|title=England team in 1990|website=Commonwealth Games Federation|access-date=14 October 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404120931/https://thecgf.com/results/games/3042/19/all|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/38042|title=Athletes and results|website=Commonwealth Games Federation|access-date=14 October 2019|archive-date=10 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110142759/https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/38042|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Rowland became the British 3,000 metres champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1988 AAA Championships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref>

After retiring, he became a coach to many promising young British steeplechasers and was a steeplechase and middle-distance coach for UK Athletics. While coaching professionally in the United Kingdom, he coached Michael East to his 6th place finish in the 1500m at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2008, Rowland became head coach of the Oregon Track Club Elite team, where he coached a number of athletes to Olympic and World Championships medals and finalist positions, including British middle-distance runner Jemma Simpson, American middle-distance runner Nick Symmonds and distance runner Lauren Fleshman, Botswana middle-distance runner Nijel Amos, Burundian middle-distance runner Francine Niyonsaba, and Kenyan distance runner Sally Kipyego, among others.<ref name="oregonlive">{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2008/12/former_olympian_to_coach_orego.html|title=Former Olympian to coach Oregon Track Club Elite|last=Laggner|first=Kyle|date=December 15, 2008|work=OregonLive.com|accessdate=29 April 2010}}</ref> In 2022, Rowland left Oregon Track Club to become an endurance coach at Athletics Canada's west hub in Victoria, British Columbia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://athletics.ca/blog/2022/07/07/prominent-endurance-coach-mark-rowland-joins-athletics-canada-west-hub/|title=Prominent Endurance Coach Mark Rowland Joins Athletics Canada West Hub|date=July 7, 2022|work=athletics.ca|accessdate=July 5, 2024}}</ref>

== International competitions == {| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}} |- ! colspan=6|Representing {{GBR2}} / {{ENG}} |- |rowspan=2|1987 |European Indoor Championships |Liévin, France |4th |3000 m |7:54.64 |- |World Indoor Championships |Indianapolis, United States |4th |3000 m |8:04.27 |- |1988 |Olympic Games |Seoul, South Korea |bgcolor=cc9966|3rd |3000 m steeplechase |8:07.96 |- |rowspan=2|1990 |Commonwealth Games |Auckland, New Zealand |7th |5000 m |13:35.69 |- |European Championships |Split, Yugoslavia |bgcolor=silver|2nd |3000 m steeplechase |8:13.27 |- |1994 |European Championships |Helsinki, Finland |4th |3000 m steeplechase |8:26.00 |}

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Sports-Reference|ro/mark-rowland-1}} *[http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/mindex.pdf gbrathletics]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Mark}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:People from Coldwaltham Category:British men steeplechase runners Category:English men steeplechase runners Category:English men middle-distance runners Category:British men middle-distance runners Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:European Athletics Championships medalists Category:Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for England Category:People educated at Midhurst Grammar School