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English long distance runner

Ian Reginald Thompson (born 16 October 1949) is an English long distance runner, who gained success in marathon running. His Commonwealth Games marathon record set in 1974 remains unbeaten.

Born in the town of Birkenhead, Cheshire (now Merseyside), Ian Thompson was regarded as just an ordinary club athlete and ranked 90th in Britain's 5,000 metres list at the time, but suddenly broke through to world class as a marathon runner when asked to make up the numbers for his club, Luton United, in the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) marathon championship on 27 October 1973. It was his first race of over 10 miles, but he won in 2:12:40, at the time, the fastest ever debut at the distance and qualified him for the Commonwealth Games three months later

Thompson travelled to Christchurch for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games with little expectation that he would be able to reproduce the performance that got him there. This was not the case however and he won with a margin of over 2 minutes in a time of 2:09:12, the fastest ever run in a championship race, a British record and only 39 seconds off the then world record of 2:08:34. This is currently (19 September 2020) the eighth fastest time by a British athlete (according to runbritainrankings. com) and still a Commonwealth Games record.

In the early autumn of 1974, Thompson competed at the European Championships in Rome, again he proved to be the class act of the field. He stayed with the leading group until the 20 kilometre mark and then steadily opening up a gap on the rest of the field that stood at 98 seconds when he won in a time of 2:13:18.8. Thompson's achievements were recognised in the 1974 SJA Annual Sports awards, where he was runner up to John Conteh in the Sportsmen of the Year category.

In 1976, he suffered cramps and finished only seventh in the trials for the Olympics, for which he was not selected. Although for many years among Britain's best, he never regained his 1974 eminence and contested only one more major championship. He won the AAA title in 1980 to gain selection for the Moscow Olympics but dropped out at the Games. His best times each year between 1977 and 1982 were in the 2:12 to 2:15 range.

His wife Margaret was an early pioneer of marathon running for women in Britain and ran a British best time of 3:07:47 in Korso, Finland on 26 October 1975 and for a few months they held both the men and women's British marathon records, until Margaret's time was beaten by Christine Readdy (Kilkenny) in Feltham on 4 April 1976. Margaret (nee Tunstall) trained at Bedford College of Physical Education. At the time of his victory at the Commonwealth Games Thompson was studying for a PGCE at Trinity and All Saints College (TASC). Thompson was famously quoted at his 1974 peak as saying "I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance of the opposition. That way I'm not frightened by anyone's reputation".

EventTimeDateLocationMarathon2:09:1231 January 1974Christchurch25,000 m1:17:36.415 May 1975Oulu15,000 m44:56.015 May 1975Oulu10,000 m29:33.019795,000 m14:05.419 June 1971Cardiff1,500 m3:51.01969One hour19.831 km15 May 1975Oulu

EventTimeDateLocationResultAAA Marathon2:12:4027 October 1973Harlow1stOrion Harriers Fifteen1:24:1424 March 1973Epping Forest2ndCommonwealth Games Marathon2:09:1231 January 1974Christchurch1stAthens Marathon2:13:50.26 April 1974Athens1stEuropean Championships Marathon2:13:18.88 September 1974Rome1stFukuoka Marathon2:12:545 December 1976Fukuoka2ndAmsterdam Marathon2:17:47.421 May 1977Amsterdam4thPolytechnic Marathon2:14:3211 June 1977Windsor1stNew York City Marathon2:17:46.023 October 1977New York13thAuckland Marathon2:03:3113 November 1977Auckland3rdAuckland Marathon2:13:4912 November 1978Auckland1stNew York City Marathon2:14:1222 October 1978New York2ndMontreal Marathon2:15:2426 August 1979Montreal6thNew York City Marathon2:13:4321 October 1979New York 4thAAA Marathon2:14:003 May 1980Milton Keynes1stLondon to Brighton Race5:15:1528 September 1980London1stStockholm Marathon2:19:2523 August 1980Stockholm 3rdTokyo Marathon2:14:391 March 1981Tokyo 7thDuchy Marathon2:27:5329 March 1981Cornwall 1stAmatrice Configno 8.4 km24:45.818 August 1981Amatrice 1stBirmingham Marathon2:13:5020 September 1981Birmingham 1stRomatona Marathon2:12:0914 March 1982Rome 2ndGeneva Marathon2:15:2821 March 1982Geneva2ndParis Marathon2:14:0716 May 1982Paris1stIntercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon2:32:35November 1983Istanbul 1stParis Marathon2:17:1414 May 1983Paris 3rdStoke on Trent City Marathon2:20:5417 June 1984Stoke on Trent1stManchester Marathon2:16:081 July 1984Manchester1stGuernsey Marathon2:25:2225 August 1986Saint Peter Port2ndMalta Marathon2:29:0615 February 1987Malta1st