Martin Gillingham
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | 9 September 1963 Leicester, England |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | hurdles |
| Club | Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers |
Martin Charles Gillingham (born 9 September 1963)[1] is an English sports commentator and journalist and former athlete, who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics.[2]
Biography
[edit]Gillingham was educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe,[3] later dropped out of Harvard University in the United States, before going to Carnegie College in Leeds.[citation needed]
He became the British 400 metres hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1984 AAA Championships.[4][5] Later that year he represented Great Britain at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[2]
Three years later he competed in the same event at the IAAF World Championships in Rome. His best time was 49.82sec which he set in finishing third behind Edwin Moses and Kriss Akabusi in a Grand Prix meeting at Crystal Palace, London in July 1987.
In 1992, he moved to South Africa to be the athletics and Olympics correspondent for the Johannesburg Sunday Times. He later became a talkshow host on radio station Capetalk in Cape Town.[citation needed] In 2003, he returned to England after which he worked for five years on BBC Radio Five Live presenting sports bulletins and reporting on rugby matches and had a brief stint as a presenter on Talksport. He is now heard as a rugby commentator on the Heineken Cup and the United Rugby Championship on ViaPlay. He was also a member of ITV's commentary team at numerous Rugby World Cups.[citation needed]
Gillingham provides expert analysis on French rugby, having worked for three seasons as lead commentator on ESPN's coverage of the Top 14 until they lost the rights at the end of the 2011/12 season. During the 2012/13 season his Top 14 commentary was heard on channels around the world including on Setanta Ireland, Premier Sports in the UK and SuperSport in Africa. The UK rights to French rugby moved to Sky Sports where he now commentates on the Top 14 matches.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Martin Gillingham". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Who's Who". atschool.eduweb. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- 1963 births
- English sports broadcasters
- Sportspeople from Leicester
- English sports journalists
- Harvard University people
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- British male hurdlers
- Living people
- People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe
- English male hurdlers