Martin Girvan
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 17 April 1960 Southend-on-Sea, England |
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 118 kg (260 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Hammer throw |
| Club | Wolverhampton & Bilston AC |
Medal record | |
Martin Girvan (born 17 April 1960) is a British former athlete who specialised in the hammer throw. He represented both Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international competition.
Biography
[edit]Girvan had a personal best throw of 77.54m, set in Wolverhampton 1984, breaking both the British and Commonwealth records.[1] His British record stood for 31-years.[2]
He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and finished ninth in the final. His best attempt of 72.32m was registered with his second throw.[3]
In addition to his Olympic appearance he also won silver medals at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games[4] and was twice British hammer throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1980 AAA Championships[5] and 1981 AAA Championships.[6][7]
Claims on doping
[edit]Outspoken against drugs in sport, in the late 1980s he made allegations of drug taking and cover-up in athletics. Girvan claimed that earlier in the decade, in order to test suspicions he had, he asked British athletics official Andy Norman prior to testing at a meet in Crystal Palace that his results would be "embarrassing", which he says prompted Norman to organise for his urine sample to be switched with another.[8][9]
In another allegation, Girvan stated that leading hammer thrower Yuriy Sedykh once advised him on what type of drugs to take, during a coaching seminar.[10][11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Chris Evert Lloyd beaten at last - On This Day". ESPN.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Nick Miller breaks 31-year-old British hammer record". BBC Sport. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Hammer Throw". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ McDowell, Jim (22 July 2002). "CommonWealth Games: Golden moments and silver linings". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Results". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 9 August 1981. Retrieved 13 June 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- 1 2 "College Football North Carolina Selects Tulane`s Brown As Coach". Sun-Sentinel. 17 December 1987. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ "Man who turned blind eye to cheats". Herald Scotland. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ↑ Hersh, Phil (20 June 1988). "Coe Runs British Reports Of His Demise Into Ground". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- 1 2 Gillon, Doug (20 June 1988). "Soviet hammer men stay away". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
External links
[edit]
- 1960 births
- Living people
- Men hammer throwers from Northern Ireland
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Northern Ireland
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes from Wolverhampton
- Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
- English men hammer throwers
- British men hammer throwers
- 20th-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics