Derek Graham

Derek Austin Graham is a retired distance athlete from Northern Ireland. The first Northern Irish runner to break 4 minutes for the mile, he was ranked number 1 in the U.K. and Ireland over 2 miles/3000 m, 3 miles/5000 m and Cross [country running|cross country] at various periods in the 1960s.

Biography

Graham competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for Great Britain, finishing seventh in his initial heat for the 5000m race.
Graham was selected for nine consecutive International cross country races, finishing second in 1966 in Rabat, Morocco. He also competed in the 1966 European Championships.
Graham represented the 1966 Northern Irish Team at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, participating in the two athletics events; the 1 mile race and the 3 miles race.
Graham was a 21-times Northern Irish champion, winning the mile title six times, the cross-country title seven times, the 3 miles title seven times and 6 mile title in 1967.
He was the Irish record holder for various distances through this time. At the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, Graham picked up a virus which later developed into myalgic encephalomyelitis, ultimately ending his athletics career.