Andy Holden (athlete)

**John Andrew Holden** (22 October 1948 – 4 Januar 2014) wis an Inglis lang distance rinner that's athletic career peaked in the 1970s. His strangest event wis the 3000 m steeplechase, fur whilk he represented his kintra in the 1972 Simmer Olympics.

Holden's best performance in the steeplechase wis 8:26.4 in September 1972, pittin doon a British record. He still haudit a national aw-time tap 20 whan he deet 42 year later. Efter his track career cam tae an end, Holden teuk up road racin, whaur he conteena'd tae race in the veteran categories for mony years. His best o 28:29 for the 10&nbsp;km road race is a British record for ower-35s.

## Biography
Holden wis brocht up in the Lancashire town o Leyland, an represented Preston Harriers as a junior, typically in cross kintra. In 1968, he went tae the University o Birmingham tae study dentistry. Whiles at university, he won the junior title in the 1969 Inglis Cross Kintra Championships, beatin futur warld 10,000&nbsp;m record hauder Dave Bedford.

Holden's first experience o senior international contest cam in 1969, whan he wis waled for an international cross kintra meeting in Braaschaat, Belgium. The race finished wi a British 1–2–3 in that Holden wis seicont, ahint Ron Hill an aheid o Bedford. Twa month later, Holden wis pairt o the Ingland team that won the team competition at the 1969 International Cross Kintra Championships; Holden placed 24th. On the track, Holden finished third in the 3000&nbsp;m steeplechase in the AAA Championships, but wis owerleuked in the selections for the 1969 European Championships. His first win in an international meeting cam in Verona in August 1969. His time wis at first thocht to be a British record for the steeplechase, but the course wis fand tae be short whan remeasured.

1970 stairtit weel for Holden; he won the British University cross kintra championship for the seicont year in a row. In his first major track championship, the 1970 British Commonweal Gemms, Holden placed 5th in the 3000&nbsp;m steeplechase. The neist month, he won the AAA title. Holden then won silver in the 3000&nbsp;m steeplechase in the 1970 Warld Student Gemms, ahint European champion Mikhail Zhelev. As the saison cam tae a close, Holden faced Kip Keino, the 3000&nbsp;m warld record hauder, in a 3000&nbsp;m race at an indoor meetin. Holden raced frae the front an pushed the Kenyan hard, but wis owertaen in the final 100&nbsp;m.

Holden keppit his AAA steeplechase title in 1971. A meetin at Crystal Palace in September saw Holden face Dave Bedford for the British steeplechase record. Holden wis ahint Bedford bi fower seiconts efter three laps, but caucht his rival wi 800&nbsp;m left. Bedford won in a sprint finish, bi a margin o 0.2 seiconts. Tho he lost tae Bedford, Holden's time of 8:28.8 wis twa seiconts faster nor the foregaun record, set bi Gerry Stevens.

Holden wisna able tae tak a third successive university cross kintra title in 1972. Racing anely twa-three week efter haein an appendectomy, he finished seicont. Holden represented Great Britain in the 3000&nbsp;m steeplechase in the 1972 Simmer Olympics, but finished fift in his heat an wis eliminatit. At the close o the ootdoor track saison, at the same meeting he haed tussled wi Bedford the year afore, Holden set a British record for the 3000&nbsp;m steeplechase. At 8:26.4, the time wis 2.2 seiconts faster nor that set bi Bedford.

Holden wis an amateur the hale o his athletic thrift. Efter he qualified as a dentist, Holden flittit tae the West Midlands, an practised dentistry fu-time alangside his athletic activities. He wis kent for his ability tae keep at competitive levels despite drinkin muckle amoonts o alcohol. He is alleged tae hae drunk ten pints o beer the nicht afore winnin the 1979 Bermuda marathon in a course-record time, an he ance ran  an drank  o beer in a single week.

In later years, Holden focused on the marathon; his personal best at the distance wis 2:15:17, a performance that gied him third place in the 1980 AAA championship. His marathon wirk includit the first European Marathon Cup in 1981, in that he finished 26th. His best marathon performance in the AAA championships wis seicont in 1981. An unco mishap stappit him frae claimin victory in the 1986 Belfast Marathon, efter the heid car twice teuk a wrang turn, at 7 an 22 mile. The lost time pruived crucial; Holden wis caucht with 400&nbsp;yard tae gang an lost bi 10&nbsp;seiconts. Holden representit his local club Tipton Harriers, whaur he coached, for several decades, an keppit up wi the racin intil the 1990s.

Holden deet on 4&nbsp;Januar 2014, efter tholin heal problems sin an aortic aneurysm three year syne.

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