Did Steve Cram ever win an Olympic gold medal?

The short answer is no, he didn’t. Born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, hence his nickname, ‘The Jarrow Arrow’, Cram competed against the likes of Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett in what is often described as a ‘golden era’ of British middle-distance running. Nevertheless, he won his fair share of gold medals, starting with the 1,500 metres at the 1982 European Athletics Championships in Athens and, less than a month later, following up in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

Four years later, at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Cram defended his title in the 1,500 metres, having previously set a Commonwealth Games record, which still stands, in the 800 metres. Shortly afterwards, he also defended his European title in the 1,500 metres in Stuttgart, beating Coe into second place in the process. In between times, Cram had also won gold in the 1,500 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki and made his second appearance at the Summer Olympics, having finished eighth behind Coe in the final of the 1,500 metres in Moscow in 1980.

On August 11, 1984, in Los Angeles, Coe, Ovett and Cram once again lined up for the final of the 1,500 metres with all three having suffered setbacks, due to illness or injury, in the build-up to the Olympic Games. In any event, Ovett, the world record holder, stepped off the track heading out onto the final lap, leaving the two remaining Britons to fight out the finish. Cram accelerated down the home straight, but Coe responded immediately and led the field into the home straight. Coe sprinted away from Cram to win in a new Olympic record time of 3:32.53, beating the previosu mark set by Kenyan Kip Keino in 1968.