Neil Gourley (born 7 February 1995)[3] is a Scottish middle-distance runner specialising in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal in the event at the 2023 European Indoor Championships and bronze at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships.
 Neil Gourley in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 February 1995 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Education | Virginia Tech[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | 1500 metres |
| College team | Virginia Tech Hokies |
| Club | Giffnock North Athletics Club |
| Coached by | Mark Rowland (2019–)[2] Ben Thomas (2013–2018) Gordon Lockie (–2013) |
Medal record | |
Gourley is the European indoor record holder for the mile and the British indoor record holder for the 1500 m. He is a three-time national champion (1500 m).
Career
editNeil Gourley won the bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 2015 European Under-23 Championships.
He competed collegiately for the Virginia Tech Hokies, where in 2018 he anchored the men's distance medley relay team to an NCAA championship title.[4]
In 2019, Gourley reached the final of his specialist event in front of the home crowd at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow but was unable to compete in it due an illness.[5]
On 25 February 2023, the 28-year-old broke Josh Kerr's British indoor 1500 m record with a time of 3:32.48 for a win at the World Indoor Tour Final in Birmingham, replacing him at No.8 on the respective world all-time list. Gourley's success secured him also overall 1500 m World Indoor Tour victory, after his mile win in Boston, MA and runner-up mile finish in New York, NY (with a European indoor record over the distance) earlier that month.[6][7] In March, he claimed the silver medal in his signature event at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul behind only Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 3:34.23 to 3:33.95.[8] It was Gourley's greatest sports achievement up to that point.
Later that year in May, Gourley opened his outdoor season with a 5000m personal best of 13:16.[9]
After winning the 1500 metres gold medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Gourley was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics[10] where he finished 10th in the final.[11]
Achievements
editInternational competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | European U23 Championships | Tallinn, Estonia | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:45.04 |
| 2017 | European U23 Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 4th | 1500 m | 3:49.53 |
| 2018 | World Cup | London, United Kingdom | 3rd | 1500 m | 3:53.24 |
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 8th (h) | 1500 m | 3:46.631 |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 11th | 1500 m | 3:37.30 | |
| 2021 | European Indoor Championships | Toruń, Poland | 12th | 1500 m | 3:45.99 |
| 2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 6th | 1500 m | 3:35.87 |
| World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 14th (sf) | 1500 m | 3:37.22 | |
| European Championships | Munich, Germany | 8th | 1500 m | 3:38.40 | |
| 2023 | European Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 2nd | 1500 m | 3:34.23 |
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 9th | 1500 m | 3:31.10 | |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 9th | 1500 m | 3:34.11 |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 10th | 1500 m | 3:30.88 |
1Did not start in the final
Personal bests
edit- 800 metres – 1:44.82 (Pfungstadt 2022)
- 800 metres indoor – 1:47.04 (Clemson, SC 2018)
- 1000 metres indoor – 2:18.68 (Blacksburg, VA 2021)
- 1500 metres – 3:30.60 (London 2023)
- 1500 metres indoor – 3:32.48 (Birmingham 2023) NR
- One mile – 3:47.74 (Eugene 2024)
- One mile indoor – 3:49.46 (New York, NY 2023) European record
- 3000 metres indoor – 7:48.94 (Fayetteville, AR 2022)
- 5000 metres – 13:11.44 (Los Angeles, CA 2023)
- 5000 metres indoor – 13:16.24 (Boston, MA 2022)
Circuit wins and titles
edit- World Athletics Indoor Tour 1500 m overall winner: 2023
- 2023: Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Mile), Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final (1500m, NR)
National titles
edit- British Athletics Championships
- 1500 metres: 2019
- British Indoor Athletics Championships
- 1500 metres: 2019, 2023
References
edit- ^ "College bio". Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Power of 10 profile". Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Neil GOURLEY – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ Gretschel, Johanna (9 March 2018). "VA Tech Men's DMR Wins Program's First NCAA Title In Distance Event". FloTrack. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ Smith, Tyrone (4 March 2021). "Gourley out to 'right wrongs' in Poland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Whittington, Jess (25 February 2023). "Tsegay threatens world indoor 3000m record, as tour titles are won in Birmingham". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Nelson, Craig (25 February 2023). "Hodgkinson, Asher-Smith & Gourley set British records". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Wilson, Jeremy (4 March 2023). "Neil Gourley targeting Jakob Ingebrigtsen scalp after narrow 1,500m second". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ Jardine, Peter (29 May 2023). "Neil leads the way with 5000m PB amid top class performances". Scottish Athletics. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Kerr & Johnson-Thompson head GB Olympics athletics squad". BBC Sport. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "No regrets for Gourley after 10th place". BBC Sport. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.