| Marcus Adam | |
| Nationality: | English |
| Birth Date: | 28 February 1968 |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Club: | Belgrave Harriers, Wimbledon |
Marcus Adam (born 28 February 1968) is an English retired sportsperson, who represented Great Britain as both a sprinter and a bobsledder.
Competing in athletics, he won the gold medal in the 200 metres at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, and also won gold and silver medals respectively in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and 1990 European Championships. He is also a member of the team which holds the British record in the 4 x 200 metres relay.
After retiring from athletics, he shifted to the sport of bobsleigh. He competed in the two-man bobsleigh event at the 2002 Winter Olympics (finishing in tenth place), having previously competed as a sprinter at the 1992 Summer Olympics (finishing in eighth place in the 200 metres and fourth place in the 4 x 100 metres relay).
Adam was born in London.[1] At the 1987 European Junior Athletics Championships, he won gold medals in both the 200 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay.[2] In the same year he won his first medal at the UK Championships, with a bronze medal in the 100 metres behind Linford Christie and Jamie Henderson.[3]
In 1989, Adam started by winning the silver medal at the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) Indoor Championships.[4] He then won both the 100 and 200 metres at the UK Championships,[3] and at the AAA Championships in the same year he won the silver medal in the 100 metres and the gold medal in the 200 metres.[5] Also, in June 1989 he helped establish a British record of 1:21.29 minutes in the rarely contested 4 x 200 metres relay (together with Ade Mafe, Linford Christie and John Regis). This record still stands. In February 1990 he helped establish a new British indoor record of 1:22.99 minutes in the same event. (The time was beaten in March 1991.)[6] Also in the 1989–90 indoor season, Adam won the 200 metres race at the AAA Indoor Championships.[4]
Adam's international breakthrough came in the 1990 outdoor season. One of the season highlights was the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Adam finished fourth in the 100 metres event with a wind-aided time of 10.14 seconds, 0.02 seconds behind bronze medallist Bruny Surin. He then won the 200 metres with a wind-aided time of 20.10 seconds, ahead of his fellow English athletes John Regis and Ade Mafe, who finished second and third. Adam would never run faster than these two wind-aided times at the Commonwealth Games.[7] He went on to win a second gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay (together with Clarence Callender, John Regis and Linford Christie).[8] Adam also participated in the 1990 European Championships. He reached the semi-finals of the 200 metres,[9] and won a silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay (together with Darren Braithwaite, John Regis and Linford Christie).[10] The time of 37.98 seconds was a British record, which would stand until 1993.[6]
Adam achieved a personal best time in the 100 metres in July 1991, clocking in 10.23 seconds at a meet in Birmingham.[7]
In the 1991–92 indoor season, Adam competed at the 1992 European Indoor Championships, reaching the semi-finals of the 200 metres.[11]
In June 1992, Adam achieved his lifetime best time in the 200 metres, with a time of 20.41 seconds at a meet in Dijon.[7]
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Adam reached the final of the 200 metres, finishing in eighth place with a time of 20.80 seconds.[1] He was also a member of the British 4 × 100 m relay team which finished in fourth place.[12] Domestically, Adam won the bronze medal in 100 metres at the AAA Championships,[5] and at the UK Championships he won the bronze medal in 100 metres and the gold medal in the 200 metres.[3]
Adam was then absent from the spotlight for several years. He made a brief return in the winter of 1999, when he competed at the World Indoor Championships,[1] and won the 200 metres event at the AAA Indoor Championships.[4]
Adam later took up the sport of bobsleigh. As a brakeman, he finished tenth in the two-man event at the 2002 Winter Olympics[12] together with Lee Johnston.[13]