Roger BLACK

 Roger Black had a dream start to his international career, striking gold in the first six events he entered. In the European Junior Championships at Cottbus, in August 1985, Black won gold medals in the 400m and the 4 x 400m relay. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he won the 400m on 27 July, and was a member of the England 4 x 400m relay team which also won gold on 2 August. These were mere preludes however, to Roger's performances at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart. In the 400m final at Stuttgart on 29 August, Roger won the gold medal (see photo above), in a new UK record of 44.59sec. Two days later, the UK 4 x 400m relay team won the gold medal in the year's best time of 2min 59.84sec, aided by a superb anchor leg of 43.95sec by Black.

All good things have to come to an end however, although Roger was certainly not disgraced when Thomas Schonlebe (East Germany) beat him by only 0.03sec in the 400m at the 1987 European Cup in Prague on 27 June. A month earlier, Black had won the 200m in 20.80sec at the UK national championships on 25 May, and it seemed that he was going to have another top season similar to 1986. However, after the European Cup he was plagued by foot injuries which restricted his competitive opportunities. Roger did not compete in the 400m at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, but he ran the third leg on the UK 4 x 400m relay team which won the silver medal behind the USA. Life became more frustrating for Black when his injuries caused him to miss all of the 1988 season, during which time he underwent an operation for a stress fracture in his left ankle, and most of the 1989 season, before making a cautious return to competition late in the year. (Ron Casey).

Roger Black had a sensational season in 1986, winning gold medals in the 400m and 4 x 400m relay at both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships. But from mid-1987 he was plagued by foot injuries, and missed nearly two years of competition before a cautious return in late 1989. At the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, in January/February 1990, Roger did not compete in the individual 400m, but was a member of England's 4 x 400m relay team which was disqualified under controversial circumstances in the heats. By the middle of the 1990 European season, Black had returned to his form of 1986, and in preparation for the European Championships in Split, he reduced his 200m personal best to 20.60sec at Birmingham on 4 August.

In the 400m final at Split on 30 August, Black got a very fast start, reaching halfway in 21.38sec. Although he faded in the final stages, Roger managed to hold off World Champion Thomas Schonlebe (East Germany) to retain his European title in 45.08sec. Two days later, Black's anchor leg of 43.96sec helped the UK to win the 4 x 400m relay gold medal in a European record time of 2min 58.22sec. In the World Championships at Tokyo in 1991, Black easily advanced in his heat on 25 August (see photo above), and signalled his capabilities by winning his semi-final on 27 August in 44.64sec. In the final the next day, Roger led into the straight, and seemed to have the gold medal won, until he was overtaken by Antonio Pettigrew (USA) just before the finish. However, Roger added a gold medal to his silver four days later, when he ran the lead leg on the victorious UK 4 x 400m relay team which set a new European record time of 2min 57.53sec. (Ron Casey)

Having missed the 1988 Olympics through injury, Roger Black, the reigning European 400m champion, and World Championships silver medallist in 1991, was eager to prove himself in Olympic competition at Barcelona in 1992. So hot was the 400m field at Barcelona, that Roger's fifth-place finishing time in his semi-final of 44.72sec, the fastest non-qualifying time ever, failed to advance him to the final. Roger made up for his disappointment in the 4 x 400m relay final, where he ran the lead leg on the Great Britain team which won the bronze medal. Roger missed the majority of the 1993 season due to a viral illness, but he returned strongly in 1994 to try to win his third European 400m title in Helsinki.

The 400m final at Helsinki resulted in a two-man tussle down the straight between Black and compatriot Du'aine Ladejo, which Ladejo ultimately won. Three days later, these two rivals combined to help Great Britain win the 4 x 400m relay in the year's fastest time of 2min 59.13sec. At the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg, Black finished 7th in the 400m, and anchored Great Britain's 4 x 400m relay team to a 4th place finish. In 1996, Roger was in the greatest form of his career, lowering his personal best over 400m to 44.39sec on 16 June, and then 44.37sec on 3 July. In his last opportunity for an individual Olympic medal, Black ran a superb race in the Olympic final at Atlanta on 29 July (see photo above) to win the silver medal. Five days later, Great Britain, with an anchor leg of 43.87sec by Black, won the silver medal in the 4 x 400m relay. In his final international appearance, Black, competing in the 4 x 400m relay only, helped Great Britain to win a silver medal at the 1997 World Championships in Athens.

(Ron Casey)