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Steve Backley

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Stephen ("Steve") James Backley OBE (born February 12, 1969 in Sidcup) is the most successful Cambridge Harriers who had an illustrious career in athletics and was formerly the world record holder for javelin.

During his career, he won four gold medals at the European Championships, three Commonwealth Games gold medals, and two silvers and a bronze at the Olympic Games, and two silvers at the World Championships.

Backley was a firm fixture in the British national athletics team for over fifteen years and is the only British track and field competitor to win medals at three different Olympic Games.

Backley was educated at Warren Road Primary School, Orpington, and later Beths Grammar School in his teens and later enrolled at Loughborough University in October 1988 to study for a BSc Honours degree in Physical Education, Sports Science and Recreation Management.

Steve Backley

Steve Backley - seen here representing Cambridge Harriers.

Although he completed his first year there and remained a student until 2002, the time he dedicated to the javelin prevented him from completing his studies. However, on December 16, 2002 Loughborough University honoured him with the degree of Doctor of Technology honoris causa.

Backley started out as a cross country runner, turning out for Cambridge Harriers in the Kent Cross Country League before turning his attentions to javlin as a teenager.

Backley's first significant title, was won in 1987 when he threw 75.14 metres to pick up the European junior title, ahead of Vladimir Zossimovich (73.24) of Russia and East German Raymond Hecht (72.78).

In 1988, Backley won the silver medal at the 1988 Junior World Championships. He also broke the world junior record that year.

In July 1990, Backley set a world record of 89.58 m in Stockholm, Sweden. The record was then bettered by the Czech thrower Jan Zelezny a few weeks later, but Backley then regained the record with a throw 90.98 m at Crystal Palace, London, to end the year as the world record holder.

Finland's Seppo Raty then bettered the record in 1991. The records set by Zelezny and Raty, as well as Backley's 90.98 m throw, had all been made using new 'Nemeth' javelins, however in August 1991 the IAAF declared this type of javelin illegal and all records set using them were retrospectively deleted. As a consequence, the world record reverted to the 89.58 m mark that Backley had set in 1990. Backley then set another world record of 91.46 m in January 1992 in New Zealand, a record which stood until the following year when it was bettered by Zelezny.

Since retiring from athletics, Steve has taken up a career in the media as a pundit and famously appeared on in the 2008 edition of BBC1's Dancing on Ice with partner Susie Lipanova and finished 7th.