Robert de Castella

De Castella is of French and Swiss-French descent. His family were part of both the French nobility and Swiss nobility.[2] He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the eldest of seven children. Sport was a way of life in his family – his father Rolet ran marathons in the 1950s. His mother Anne was a state-level tennis player. His brother Nicholas, took part in four World Cross Country Championships, whereas brother Anthony competed in running at club level for more than 25 years.[3] Rob de Castella was an outstanding track athlete as a teenager and trained under Pat Clohessy from the age of 11.[4]

In addition to marathon running, de Castella was also an accomplished cross country runner. He won the Australian national title once as a junior and four times as a senior, along with five other podium finishes. He competed eight times at the World Cross Country Championships from 1977 to 1986, finishing in the top 20 five times.[12]

De Castella failed to finish the marathon at the 1987 World Athletics Championships.[12] He represented Australia at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics, competing in four straight Olympic Games. He finished in the top ten in three Olympics, but never won a medal.[1]

He retired from the sport in 1993 and lives in Canberra, together with his wife Theresa and four children.[13] Previously he was married to the former champion triathlete Gaylene Clews.[4][14] He lost his family home, along with many of his medals and other citations, in the 2003 Canberra bushfires.[15] Choosing to move rather than rebuild, he now lives in a nearby suburb. He later helped with the taskforce established for the reconstruction of areas worst affected by the fires.[13]

From 1990 to 1995, de Castella was the director of the Australian Institute of Sport[14] and subsequently became executive director of Focus On You, a company focusing on corporate and community health and fitness.[14] He has also been actively involved in other organisations dedicated to encouraging healthy living for both children and adults.[16] He also fronts the Indigenous Marathon Project. In 2014 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia at the Australia Day honours.

In 2003, de Castella launched "deeks", a specialist chain of grain and gluten free bakeries & cafés.[17] In 2004, he earned a black belt in the traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu; he has also been part of a long-running advertising campaign for the multi-vitamin tablet "Centrum".[13]

On 10 October 2023, de Castella was one of 25 Australians of the Year who signed an open letter supporting the Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice referendum, initiated by psychiatrist Patrick McGorry.[18][19]

• 1977 – won the Sydney City to Surf in 41' 12"
• 1979 – won the Victorian Championship in 2h 14'44" and the Australian marathon title in 2h 13'23"[4]
• 1980 – 10th in the 1980 Summer Olympics marathon in Moscow, 2h 14'31"; 8th at the Fukuoka Marathon in 2h 10'44"[4]
• 1981 – won the Fukuoka Marathon in 2h 08'18" (world record from 1981 to 1984)[4]
• 1981 – won and set fastest time of 40'08" in City to Surf, Sydney. (this time bettered in 1991)
• 1982 – won the 1982 Commonwealth Games marathon in Brisbane in 2h 09'18"[4]
• 1983 – won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2h 08'37"[4]
• 1983 – won the 1983 World Championships in Athletics marathon in Helsinki in 2h 10'03"[4]
• 1984 – 5th in the Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles in 2h 11'09"[1]
• 1984 – 3rd in the Chicago Marathon in 2h 09'09"
• 1985 – 3rd in the Chicago Marathon in 2h 08'48"[4]
• 1986 – won the 1986 Commonwealth Games marathon in Edinburgh in 2h 10'15"
• 1986 – won the Boston marathon in 2h 07'51" (personal best[1][4])
• 1987 – won the Great North Run in 1h 02'04"
• 1988 – 4th in the Tokyo International Marathon in 2h 08'49"
• 1988 – 8th in the 1988 Summer Olympics marathon in Seoul in 2h 13'07"[1][4]
• 1990 – 13th in the 1990 Commonwealth Games marathon in 2h 18'50"[12]
• 1991 – won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2h 09'42"
• 1992 – finished 26th in Olympic Marathon, Barcelona in 2h 17'44"[1]

As of May 2009, de Castella still held the following records:[12]

• Australian U20 10,000 m – 28'54"4 on 16 December 1976 in Melbourne
• Australian 20 km Track – 58.37.2 on 17 April 1982 in Rome
• Australian 1 hr – 20,516 m on 17 April 1982 in Rome
• Australian All Comers Marathon – 2h 09'18" in Brisbane Commonwealth Games 1982
• Australian Marathon – 2h 07'51" at the 1986 Boston Marathon

• 1982 – Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of service to athletics.[20]
• 1983 – Australian of the Year[14]
• 1985 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame[21]
• 2000 – Australian Sports Medal for significant contribution as a competitor (Athletics).[22]
• 2001 – Centenary Medal service to the sport of athletics and to sports administration.[23]
• 2001 – Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'[24]
• 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.[25]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert de Castella.

• Robert de Castella at World Athletics
• Robert de Castella at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Robert de Castella at the Australian Olympic Committee
• Robert de Castella at Olympics.com
• Robert de Castella at Olympedia