Bertie Messitt
Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Albert John Messitt |
Nationality | Irish |
Born | Bray, Wicklow, Ireland | 28 September 1930
Died | 18 February 2012 Shankill, Dublin, Ireland | (aged 81)
Sport | |
Sport | Long-distance running |
Event(s) | Marathon |
Club | Donore |
Bertie Messitt (28 September 1930 – 18 February 2012)[1] was an Irish long-distance runner. He was educated in Saint Cronan's Boys' National School in Bray. A bus conductor, he won his fourth Irish cross country title in 1961.[2] By the time he had ended his competitive career in 1966, he had recorded 16 Irish records, nine in 1958 alone: 13:44 for three miles, 14:14.8 for 5,000m, 49:33 for 10 miles. He finished 13th in the European Marathon Championships in Belgrade in 1962. His best marathon time, 2:25.39, was set in 1963.[3] He won the Irish marathon championship in 1960, running 2:28:40, qualifying him for the Irish team in the marathon at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
For 12 miles, Bertie led the Olympic's lead pack at a blistering pace. It included Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, who became the world record-breaking winner, Moroccans Rhadi Ben Abdesselam, the eventual runner up, and Bakir Benaïssa (8th place), as well as Belgium's Aurèle Vandendriessche, the Soviet Union's , who lost his world record while finishing fifth, and Great Britain's Arthur Keily, who faded to 25th. Messitt, spent from his gallant effort, dropped out at 20 miles.[4][5][6]
References[]
- ^ "Irish Olympian Messitt passes away". rte.ie. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ [1], Independent.ie, 25 February 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Great sadness after as Olympian Bertie Messitt laid to rest, Independent.ie, Mary Fogarty, 22 February 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ Maraniss (2008), p. 373–374
- ^ "Bertie Messitt Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
- ^ Messitt's life much more than five-ringed circus, Irish Times, 25 February 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
External links[]
- 1930 births
- 2012 deaths
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Irish male long-distance runners
- Olympic athletes of Ireland
- People from Bray, County Wicklow
- Sportspeople from County Wicklow