Maurice Herriott, 1964 Olympic steeplechase

Maurice Herriott, who won Olympic silver in the 3000m steeplechase at the 1964 Tokyo Games, died on Monday, August 24, at the age of 86. According to a report from Athletics Weekly, he passed away following a short illness, surrounded by his family.

Herriott's career was built on remarkable consistency while balancing a demanding full-time job. He worked a 45-hour week as a motorcycle fitter at the Birmingham Small Arms factory, fitting three training sessions a day around his shifts. During this period, he won eight AAA titles between 1959 and 1967, a haul that remains unmatched.

A Steeplechasing Career

Herriott was introduced to the event as a 17-year-old by his coach, Tom Heeley. He won the AAA junior mile steeplechase title in 1957 and set an unofficial world junior record for the 3000m steeplechase the following year. His first senior AAA championship came in 1959, when he was just 19, and soon earned a Great Britain call-up.

Injury forced him out of the 1962 European Championships final, but he won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Perth that November. The true breakthrough came in 1963. He broke the British record four times, finished the year ranked fifth in the world, and was named the first ever British Athletics Writers' Association Athlete of the Year.

Olympic Success and Legacy

By the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Herriott was a genuine medal prospect. In the final, he recovered from a significant deficit on Belgium's Gaston Roelants over the closing stages. He finished just 10 metres behind Roelants' winning time of 8:30.8, taking silver in a lifetime best of 8:32.4.

He continued competing at the highest level for the rest of the decade, coming close to his UK record again in 1966 and 1967, before retiring after the 1968 Mexico Olympics. After his athletic career, he spent 14 years crewing a deep-sea trawler and later managed a recycling plant on the Isle of Man.

Herriott was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Despite his longevity, some who followed his career closely felt his achievements never received wider recognition. Fellow Olympic steeplechaser Eric Shirley suggested Herriott had run more races in world-class times than any other GB steeplechaser in history.

Tributes have circulated within the British athletics community. Friend and former training partner Chris Quine described him on Facebook as "arguably one of Britain's greatest ever steeplechasers" and "a kind and modest family man." His passing marks the loss of a pivotal figure in the history of British distance running. For more on the athletes defining the current era, see our squad and stats pages.