Athlete Profiles
Mark Ormrod
His experience prevailed in his selection for the world championships relay squad, required to run the final leg after the withdrawal of John Steffensen through injury. He battled hard but was overwhelmed by stronger opponents as the team, which also included Sean Wroe, Dylan Grant and Kurt Mulcahy, finished sixth in its heat.
In perhaps the strongest event in Australian athletics, Mark placed fifth at the Australian titles. Mark was named as the sixth member of the strong 4x400m team for Beijing, in what would be his second Olympics. Running in the heat only Mark helped the team to qualify for the final, placing fourth in the heat. The team finished sixth in the final.
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- Date of Birth:
- 01.12.1982
- Discipline:
- Sprints
- Occupation:
- Athlete
- Height:
- 185cm
- Weight:
- 76kg
- State:
- SA
- Coach:
- Self & SASI
- Previous Coaches:
- Steve Butler, Tudor Bidder
- Scholarship:
- SASI
- Club:
- Tea Tree Gully
- Place of Birth/Residence:
- Adelaide, SA
- Marital Status
- Single
Further Information
Competition Stats
AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
400 metres: 1999 (U18) - 1st, 2000 (U20) - 4th (3rd
Australian), 2000 (Olympic Games Trial) - 1st B race, 2001 - 8th,
2002 - heat, 2003 - 4th, 2004 - heat, 2005 - 4th, 2006 - 4th, 2007
- 5th, 2008 - 5th
INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
World championships: 2003 - 4 x 400m relay 3rd heat
(3.02.89, split 46.22), 2007 - 4 x 400m 6th heat (3.02.59, split
46.15)
World junior championships: 2000 - 400m 4th heat
(47.66), 4 x 400m 2nd heat (3.10.41, split 46.83)
East Asian Games: 2001 - 400m 4th (46.07), 4 x
400m 2nd (3.10.57)
Olympic Games: 2004 - 4 x 400m 2nd (3:00.06, split
44.76), 2008 – 4 x 400m 6th (ran heat only)
Commonwealth Games: 2006 - 4 x 400m 1st (3.00.93,
split 45.77)
World University Games: 2007 - 4 x 400m 2nd
(3.02.76)
ANNUAL PROGRESSION:
400 metres:
1998 50.44
1999 47.96
2000 47.37
2001 46.07
2002 47.08
2003 46.49
2004 45.87
2005 45.62
2006 45.73
2007 46.09
2008 46.15
EVENTS / PERSONAL
BESTS:
200 metres: 21.02(+1.6) - Canberra, 5/02/05
400 metres: 45.62 - Melbourne, 1/12/05
Interesting Facts
Mark was a promising junior soccer player in Adelaide, quitting just prior to getting his first 400m world junior qualifier. He considered he had better prospects in athletics and always aimed to be a sprinter. Graduating from high school, Mark studied business marketing and management at university. He moved from Adelaide to Canberra in 2006 to train at the AIS.Sporting Career
Mark made major progress in 1999 and in 2000
secured selection in the team for the world juniors, where he ran
close to his best in the individual 400m and ran in the heats of
the 4x400m, assisting the team to a finals berth.
On returning home in December 2000, he ran a fast 10.79 in the
heats of the 100m at the Australian All Schools Championships, but
in the final tore his right hamstring in three places, restricting
his appearances during the summer of 2001. He recovered
sufficiently to record a PB and place fourth at the open nationals
400m, earning selection for the East Asian Games at which he made
further progress, shaving 0.45 seconds from his personal best and
claiming another fourth place.
A lean 2002 season was followed by better news in March 2003 when
he ran 46.49 to be selected for the world championships in Paris,
where many believe he came of age running a dogged leg for a team
which missed the final by one position. That run proved important
as, in a mixed 2003-04 domestic season, he did not qualify for the
national 400m final which would normally have ended Olympic
selection hopes. Given a further chance, Mark did enough, setting a
PB of 45.87 in July.
In Athens he ran a good anchor of 46.42 in the heats to help the
team into the final. In the final, Mark ran the second leg in what
proved to be a tactically brilliant move. He responded with a split
of 45.0, helping the team win a surprise silver medal. The
team's time of 3:00.60 was the second fastest in Australian
history and only the second Olympic relay medal for Australia (the
first for 48 years).
Early in 2005 he lowered his 200m best to 21.02 and set a 400m PB
of 45.62 in Melbourne’s Zatopek Classic in December. A desperately
close finish for third place at the 2006 nationals denied Mark an
individual 400m berth for the Commonwealth Games, but he again
demonstrated his capacity to deliver in team competition as a
member of the Games gold medal-winning 4x400m team.
Mark missed most of the 2006-07 season with dental problems and
injury, but returned in time to manage fifth spot in the nationals
ahead of preparation for a European tour and confirmation of a
relay spot for Osaka.
He competed in Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Holland in
a six-week block that produced mixed results, including 47-plus
second runs. Nevertheless, Mark joined an Australian 4x400m relay
team in Bangkok, Thailand at the World University Games, running
the second leg en route to a silver medal.
Mark’s experience prevailed in his selection for the world
championships relay squad, required to run the final leg after the
withdrawal of John Steffensen through injury. He battled hard but
was overwhelmed by stronger opponents as the team, which also
included Sean Wroe, Dylan Grant and Kurt Mulcahy, finished sixth in
its heat.
In perhaps the strongest event in Australian
athletics, Mark placed fifth at the Australian titles.
Mark was named as the sixth member of the strong 4x400m team for
Beijing, in what would be his second Olympics. Running in the heat
only Mark helped the team to qualify for the final, placing fourth
in the heat. The team finished sixth in the final.
Family connections
Mark's father played soccer for New Zealand.
