Robert De Castella
Robert De Castella was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on February 27th, 1957 and is the Runner. At the age of 67, Robert De Castella biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 67 years old, Robert De Castella has this physical status:
Francois Robert "Rob" de Castella (born 27 February 1957) is an Australian former world champion marathon runner. To the Australian public, De Castella is often referred to as "Deek" or "Deeks" and "tree" to his opponents due to his thick legs and inner calm.
He holds the Oceanic record for the marathon.
Early life
De Castella is of French and Swiss-French descent. His family belonged to both the French nobility and Swiss nobility. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and was the eldest of seven children. In his family, sport was a way of life – Rolet, his father, ran marathons in the 1950s. Anne, his mother, was a state-level tennis player. Nicholas' brother participated in four World Cross Country Championships, while brother Anthony ran at a club level for more than 25 years. Rob de Castella was an outstanding track performer as a child and worked with Pat Clohessy from the age of 11.
Marathon career
De Castella's name first came to international prominence in 1981 when he finished the Fukuoka Marathon in a record-breaking time for an out-and-back course. It was not expected to be the world best time ever set in the 1981 New York City Marathon, although Alberto Salazar's time was 5 seconds slower than the time set by Alberto Salazar in the 1981 New York City Marathon. It later emerged that the New York course was about 148 meters short of being completed. The time de Castella's clock was later confirmed as the world record.
At the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, De Castella was the favorite to win the marathon. After five minutes, Tanzanians Gidamis Shahanga and Juma Ikangaa raced to the lead and were 50 meters ahead of the pack. This widened to many hundred meters after the 20-kilometer mark. De Castella developed diarrhoea at the halfway mark. He let go of his bowels and ordered for some damp towels from his crew members in the midst of 100% humidity. Ikangaa had taken the lead from his compatriot by the 23 kilometers mark, with de Castella in the main pack some 250 meters behind but not closing. At the 38 kilometers mark, De Castella descended on Shahango, who was then unemployed, and he took the lead in the next kilometer. However, Ikangaa was not finished, and he retook the lead just marginally. The duel raged throughout the remainder of the season. De Castella managed to win by 80 meters in a time of 2:09:18, 12 seconds behind Ikangaa. Mike Gratton of the United Kingdom came in third in 2:12:06, and Shahanga fell to finish 6th in 6th, and Harron was fourth. The run came on the streets of Brisbane, not in the main stadium.
De Castella won the Rotterdam Marathon in 1983 after defeating a long field. The contest was billed as a battle between de Castella and Salazar, who had at the time been undefeated, and it was also broadcast live back to Australia. De Castella finished in a time of 2:08:37, beating Lopes, who will win the Olympic marathon next year), and defeated Lopes in a sprint for the finish. At that time, De Castella's record was the fourth fastest in history.
When De Castella won the marathon in August 1983, he defeated Ethiopian Kebede Balcha by 24 seconds and Olympic champion Waldemar Cierpinski by 34 seconds.
De Castella was the favourite for the 1984 Summer Olympics marathon. He was running in a leading group of ten until about the 35 kilometre mark. At a drink station, six leading runners picked up speed, but De Castella could not keep up. During the last kilometres, he caught some of the best runners and finished fifth, finishing fifth.
In Edinburgh, De Castella defended his Commonwealth Games title, winning in 2:10:15.
Post career and life
At the 1987 World Athletic Championships Championships, De Castella failed to finish the marathon. He appeared in four consecutive Olympic Games, representing Australia at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics. In three Olympics, he came in fifth, but he never received a medal.
He retired from sport in 1993 and lives in Canberra, alongside his wife Theresa and four children. He was married before to Gaylene Clews, the former champion triathlete. In the 2003 Canberra bushfires, he and many of his medals and other citations were lost. He now lives in a nearby suburb rather than rebuilding. He later joined the taskforce in the reconstruction of areas that had been destroyed by the fires.
De Castella was the founder of the Australian Institute of Sport from 1990 to 1995 and then executive director of Focus On You, a company focusing on corporate and community health and fitness. He has also been active in other organizations committed to improving both children and adults's health. He also leads the Indigenous Marathon Project. At the Australia Day Awards in 2014, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia.
De Castella launched "deeks," a specialty chain of grain and gluten free bakeries & cafés, in 2003. He earned his black belt in the traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu; he has also been active in the multi-vitamin tablet "Centrum" for more than a decade.
Other awards
- 1982 – Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of service to athletics.
- 1983 – Australian of the Year
- 1985 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame
- 2000 – Australian Sports Medal for significant contribution as a competitor (Athletics).
- 2001 – Centenary Medal service to the sport of athletics and to sports administration.
- 2001 – Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'
- 2014 – Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community through programs promoting children's health and fitness, as a supporter and mentor of young Indigenous men and women, and to marathon running.
