View source for Allan Wells

{{Short description|Scottish sprinter}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{About|the athlete|the English cricketer|Alan Wells}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name= Allan Wells
|honorific_suffix= [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]]
|image=
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|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|05|03|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Midlothian]], Scotland
|hometown=
|training=
|death_date=
|death_place=
|height=
|event= [[100 metres]]<br>[[200 metres]]
|level=
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{{Medal|Sport | Men's [[athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country | {{GBR2}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Moscow]]|[[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres|100 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Moscow]]|[[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres|200 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Cup]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1981 IAAF World Cup|1981 Rome]]|100 m}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1981 IAAF World Cup|1981 Rome]]|200 m}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1979 European Cup (athletics)|1979 Turin]]|200 m}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1981 European Cup (athletics)|1981 Zagreb]]|100 m}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1983 European Cup (athletics)|1983 London]]|200 m}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1981 European Cup (athletics)|1981 Zagreb]]|200 m}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1983 European Cup (athletics)|1983 London]]|100 m}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1979 European Cup (athletics)|1979 Turin]]|100 m}}
{{Medal|Country | {{SCO}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1978 Commonwealth Games|1978 Edmonton]]|[[Athletics at the 1978 Commonwealth Games|200 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1978 Commonwealth Games|1978 Edmonton]]|[[Athletics at the 1978 Commonwealth Games|4 × 100 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1982 Commonwealth Games|1982 Brisbane]]|[[Athletics at the 1982 Commonwealth Games|100 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1982 Commonwealth Games|1982 Brisbane]]|[[Athletics at the 1982 Commonwealth Games|200 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1978 Commonwealth Games|1978 Edmonton]]|[[Athletics at the 1978 Commonwealth Games|100 m]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1982 Commonwealth Games|1982 Brisbane]]|[[Athletics at the 1982 Commonwealth Games|4 × 100 m]]}}
}}

'''Allan Wipper Wells''' (born 3 May 1952) is a Scottish former [[track and field]] [[sprint (running)|sprint]]er who became the [[100 metres at the Olympics|100 metres Olympic champion]] for [[Great Britain]] at the [[1980 Summer Olympics]] in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0026/|title=BBC - A Sporting Nation - Allan Wells 1980 Moscow Olympics|publisher=BBC}}</ref> In 1981, he was both the [[IAAF Golden Sprints]] and [[IAAF World Cup]] gold medallist. He is also a three-time [[European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]] gold medallist.

Wells was a multiple medallist for Scotland at the [[Commonwealth Games]], winning two golds at the [[1978 Commonwealth Games]] and completing a [[100 metres]]/[[200 metres]] sprint double at the [[1982 Commonwealth Games]]. He also recorded the fastest British 100/200 times from 1978–1983 and the fastest 100 m in 1984.

==Biography==
===Early years and long jump===
Born in [[Edinburgh]], Wells was educated at Fernieside Primary School and then [[Liberton High School]]. He left school at age 15 to begin an engineering apprenticeship.<ref name="guardianolysrs"/> He was initially a [[triple jump]]er and [[long jump]]er,<ref name="guardianolysrs">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/jun/15/50-olympic-stunning-moments-allan-wells |title=50 stunning Olympic moments No39: Allan Wells wins 100m gold in Moscow |date=15 June 2012 |newspaper=The Guardian |author=Rob Bagchi |location=London}}</ref> and was the Scottish indoor [[long jump]] champion in 1974.

===Commonwealth and European sprint titles===
He began concentrating on [[Sprint (running)|sprint]] events in 1976. In 1977 he won the [[Amateur Athletic Association]] (AAA) Indoor [[60 metres]] title, and won his first of seven outdoor Scottish sprint titles.

In the 1978 season, his times and victories continued to improve. He set a new British record at Gateshead 10.29, beating [[Don Quarrie]] and [[James Sanford (athlete)|James Sanford]], and also won the UK 100/[[200 metres|200]] Championships.

At the [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Edmonton]], Alberta, Canada, he won the [[gold medal]] in the 200 m and [[silver medal|silver]] in the 100 m.<ref name="guardianolysrs"/> He also won the [[4 x 100 metres relay|4 × 100 m]] running the second leg with [[Drew McMaster]], [[David Jenkins (athlete)|David Jenkins]] and [[Cameron Sharp]] running the other three legs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HLdAAAAAIBAJ&pg=2609%2C2878939|title=Scots' fine late thrust Last track day brings more gold and bronze |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=14 August 1978 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

This success continued in 1979, when he won the European Cup 200 metres in [[Turin]], Italy, beating the new world record holder [[Pietro Mennea]] on his home ground; he also finished 3rd in the 100 metres.

===1980 – Olympic success and the Koblenz showdown===
At the start of the 1980 season, Wells won the AAA's 100 metres, then went to the [[Côte d'Azur]] to finish preparing for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. He never used starting blocks,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D8tAAAAAIBAJ&pg=1517%2C883092 |title=Britain's Europa Cup hope runs into trouble |first=Neil |last=Wilson |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=4 August 1979 |page=13 |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> until a rule change forced him to do so for the Moscow Olympics.<ref name="guardianolysrs"/> Prior to the Olympics, he was put under pressure by [[Margaret Thatcher]] in the boycott of the games led by the Americans.{{clarify|date=July 2023}}<ref name="Observer 2006">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/mar/05/features.sport9 |title=Thatcher tried to blackmail us not to go to Moscow. That made me very angry |first=Jamie |last=Jackson |work=The Observer |date=5 March 2006 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref> He responded by declining all media requests.<ref name=deepwells>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/theatre-review-weir-sisters-dance-review-tango-moderno-1436232|title=Theatre review: The Weir Sisters &#124; Dance review: Tango Moderno|date=9 August 2008|work=The Scotsman}}</ref><ref name="guardianolysrs"/> His Olympic participation was threatened by chronic back pain that struck him shortly before the games began. Each day, he underwent four exhausting treatment sessions that left him too tired to train. Instead, when not undergoing treatment, he spent his time relaxing.<ref name=deepwells/>

In Moscow, Wells qualified for the final, with a new British record 10.11 s, where he faced pre-race favourite [[Silvio Leonard]] of [[Cuba]]. Wells finished with an extreme lean which allowed his head and shoulder to cross the finish line {{convert|3|in|mm}} before Leonard's chest in a photo finish; both men were given a final time of 10.25 s.<ref name="guardianolysrs"/><ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://olympics.com/en/original-series/episode/moscow-1980-how-scotland-s-alan-wells-became-an-accidental-hero |title=
Moscow 1980 - How Scotland's Alan Wells became an accidental hero |website=olympics.com |publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]] |date=20 July 2018 |access-date=28 October 2022}}</ref> Wells became the oldest Olympic 100 m champion at that time at the age of 28 years 83 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=6921|title=Athletics photographic encyclopedia, athlete, olympic games, world championship, european championship & hero images by sporting-heroes.net|publisher=Sporting Heroes}}</ref>

The 200 m final was another close affair. Wells won the silver medal behind [[Pietro Mennea]], who beat him by 0.02 s;<ref name="guardianolysrs"/> again he set a British record of 20.21 s. He went on to break a third British record, 38.62 s, with the sprint relay team that finished fourth in the final.

In a later interview, Wells said the two issues he faced prior to the games were inadvertently key factors in his success. He said in an interview to ''[[The Scotsman]]'', "When we got to Moscow, [my wife and coach] Margot and I decided that I'd do six starts and see how it went. The fourth and fifth were full-out as if I was competing and I asked Margot what she thought: she said they were the best she'd ever seen me do. The rest had done me a lot of good, I was really fresh and committed, and those starts gave me the psychological edge over everyone else, which was key because the Olympics is all about your mental aptitude. You're at your fastest when you're relaxed and flowing (Wells' 10.11secs to qualify for the 100m final remains the Scottish record) rather than having to be aggressive."{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

Following the Moscow Olympics, there was some suggestion that Wells's gold medal had been devalued by the boycott of the games. Wells accepted an invitation to take on the best USA sprinters of the day, among others, the ASV Weltklasse track meeting in [[Cologne]] in West Germany. Less than two weeks after the Moscow gold, he won the final in [[Koblenz]] in a time of 10.19s, beating Americans [[Stanley Floyd]] (10.21), [[Mel Lattany]] (10.25), [[Carl Lewis]] (10.30) and [[Harvey Glance]] (10.31).<ref name="guardianolysrs"/><ref name=deepwells/> Lattany went straight over to Wells after crossing the line to say, "For what it's worth, Allan, You're the Olympic champion and you would have been Olympic champion no matter who you ran against in Moscow."<ref name="guardianolysrs"/>

At the end of 1980, Wells was awarded Scottish Sports Personality of the Year.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

===1981 World Cup win===
In 1981, after a tour of Australia and New Zealand, Wells won the [[1981 European Cup (athletics)|European Cup]] 100 metres, beating East German [[Frank Emmelmann]].<ref name="Europa Cup Results 1981">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=du5AAAAAIBAJ&pg=6056%2C3108088 |title=Europa Cup Results |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=17 August 1981 |page=14 |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref> Wells also finished 2nd in the 200 m.<ref name="Europa Cup Results 1981"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=du5AAAAAIBAJ&pg=5734%2C3131765 |title=Wells beaten but Britain happy |first=Bruce |last=Urquhart |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=17 August 1981 |page=16 |access-date=15 October 2022}}</ref>

He then won the "[[1981 IAAF World Cup|IAAF Golden sprints]]" in [[Berlin]], which was the most prominent sprint meeting in the world that year. Although finishing second to the Frenchman [[Hermann Panzo]] by 0.01 secs in the 100, Wells won the 200 beating the top four American sprinters Mel Lattany, Jeff Phillips, Stanley Floyd, Steve Williams as well as Canada's [[Ben Johnson (Canadian sprinter)|Ben Johnson]] in the 100/200, 10.15/20.15 (200 wind assist) for Wells to win the event in an aggregate 30.30.

Wells won the 100 metres at the IAAF World cup in Rome, beating [[Carl Lewis]]; Wells then finished 2nd in the world cup 200 in 20.53. Afterwards, he beat Mel Lattany and Stanley Floyd again, when he won a 200 in 20.26 in the [[Memorial Van Damme]] meeting in [[Brussels]], Belgium.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

===Later sprinting career===
In 1982, in [[Brisbane]], Queensland, Australia, Wells won two more [[Commonwealth Games]] titles in the 100 m, a wind-assisted 10.02. and then the 200 m, and a [[bronze medal]] in the relay. He shared the 200 m title with [[Mike McFarlane]] of England in 20.43 in a rare [[Tie (draw)|dead heat]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z8NAAAAAIBAJ&pg=2461%2C1639382 |title=Wells in a unique dead heat for gold |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=8 October 1982 |page=24 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>

In 1983, he won his third European Cup title by winning the 200 metres in 20.72, beating his old adversary Pietro Mennea in London, and again took 2nd in the 100 m.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w8FAAAAAIBAJ&pg=2231%2C4339604 |title=Victory banishes Wells's nightmare |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Glasgow Herald |page=16 |date=22 August 1983 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

He then finished 4th in both the 100/200 sprint finals at the IAAF World Championships in [[Helsinki]].

At age 32,<ref name="Olympics.com 2018 o456">{{cite web | title=Allan WELLS | website=Olympics.com | date=20 July 2018 | url=https://olympics.com/en/athletes/allan-wells | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref> he reached the 100 m semi-finals at the [[1984 Los Angeles Olympics]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6cJAAAAAIBAJ&pg=3767%2C929556 |title=Wells has foot injury |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Herald |page=1 |date=6 August 1984 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref> and was a member of the relay team that finished 7th in the final.

Wells missed most of 1985 with injury. He was not selected for the [[1986 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh]] in 1986, as he had failed to compete at the Scottish trials.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/allan-wells-missing-scotlands-last-games-1564281 |title=Allan Wells on missing Scotland's last games |first=Paul |last=Forsyth |work=The Scotsman |date=18 August 2013 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref> However, on 5 August at [[Gateshead]], he beat both [[Ben Johnson in 10.40 (Canadian sprinter)|Ben Johnson]] and [[Atlee Mahorn]], the respective Commonwealth 100 m and 200 m champions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZrZAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5992%2C1295837 |title=Wells stakes claim for place in Europe |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=6 August 1986 |page=19 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

Wells gained additional attention at Gateshead for being the first to be seen sporting the now common [[Lycra]] running shorts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12020547.quantum-leap-in-sports-technology/|title=Quantum leap in sports technology |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=14 December 1998 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref> The sight of these led to him being dubbed [[Wilson of the Wizard]] (a comic book character).<ref name="golden oldie">{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/athletics-wells-warms-to-golden-oldie-day-1069350.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228164234/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/athletics-wells-warms-to-golden-oldie-day-1069350.html |archive-date=2014-02-28 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Simon | last=Turnbull | title=Athletics: Wells warms to golden oldie day | date=7 February 1999}}</ref>

Wells was consequently selected for [[Stuttgart]] in the European championships, coming fifth in both the 100 m and 200 m finals.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ebZAAAAAIBAJ&pg=3843%2C6929472 |title=Triumphant Christie's tribute to Wells |first=Doug |last=Gillon |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=28 August 1986 |page=22 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref> He also had a victory against [[Linford Christie]] at [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|Crystal Palace]] at the end of 1986 in 100 m at 10.31. One of his last victories was winning the Inverness Highland Games 100/200 double in 1987. In 1987 his best time was 10.28 and he qualified for the Rome World Championships but he
was injured.

Although his later career was plagued by repeated back injuries, he still won a career total of 18 medals at major championships before retiring in his mid-30s. He and Don Quarrie and Pietro Mennea set a trend for sprinters in their mid thirties to compete longer in the late Eighties.<ref name="Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 2023 p582">{{cite web | title=ALLAN WELLS MBE | website=Scottish Sports Hall of Fame | date=25 May 2023 | url=https://sshf.sportscotland.org.uk/inductees/allan-wells-mbe/index.html | access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>

===After competitive retirement===
Since 1982 Wells has lived in Surrey, with his wife [[Margot Wells|Margot]].<ref name="golden oldie"/> After retirement, he was a coach for the British [[bobsleigh]] team. Margot was also a Scottish 100/100 hurdles champion. They are now based in [[Guildford]], Surrey where she is a fitness consultant, and Allan is a retired systems engineer. Allan coached the [[Bank of Scotland]] specialist sprint squad alongside another former Scottish sprinter, [[Ian Mackie]].

Wells's personal best for the 100 metres is 10.11, and for the 200 metres is 20.21, run at the [[Moscow 1980]] games, and both are still Scottish records.

He also ran a wind-assisted (+5.9&nbsp;m/s) 10.02 in Brisbane, 1982 (still the track record as of August&nbsp;2024 which he shares with Rohan Browning of Sydney, Australia from April&nbsp;2023), and (+3.7&nbsp;m/s) 20.11 in Edinburgh, 1980.

In June 2015, a BBC documentary ([[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]: ''Catch Me If You Can'') uncovered allegations by Wells' former teammate of historical doping by the 1980 Olympic 100 m champion, beginning in 1977. Wells denied the allegations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32883944|title=Allan Wells 'took drugs ahead of gold medal win'|date=5 June 2015|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

As of August 2024, Wells holds two track records for 200&nbsp;metres, both of which had wind-assistance. They are [[Turin]] (20.29, 1979, +2.2&nbsp;m/s) and [[Venice]] (20.26, 1981, +8.5&nbsp;m/s).

==Honours and awards==
Wells was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[1982 Birthday Honours]] for services to athletics.<ref>United Kingdom: {{London Gazette |issue=49008 |date=11 June 1982 |pages=17 |supp=y }}</ref> He was also inducted alongside [[Eric Liddell]] and [[Wyndham Halswelle]] (two other former Scottish Athletic Olympic Champions) into the [[Scottish Sports Hall of Fame]].

Wells was the first baton holder for the [[Queen's Baton Relay]] for the [[2014 Commonwealth Games]], carrying the baton from [[Buckingham Palace]] in London in October 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24463215 |title=Commonwealth Games: Queen's Baton Relay launch |publisher=BBC News |date=9 October 2013 |access-date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

In July 2014, Wells received, along with his wife Margot, an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Edinburgh Napier University.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.napier.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-news/honorary-graduates | title=Honorary Graduates }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{Olympics.com profile|allan-wells}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Team GB}}
* {{Team Scotland|allan-wells}}
* {{Commonwealth Games Federation}}
* {{Scottish Sports Hall of Fame|allan-wells-mbe}}
* [https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/4713 NO EASY WAY: Allan Wells, One Man's Olympics] at National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive

{{Footer Olympic Champions 100 m Men}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions 100 metres Men}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions 200m Men}}
{{Footer Commonwealth Champions 4x100 m Men|1978}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Great Britain Men}}
{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions 100m Men}}{{Footer UK NC 100 Metres Men}}{{Footer UK NC 200 Metres Men}}{{British Indoor Athletics Championships men's 60 metres champions}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Allan}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scottish men sprinters]]
[[Category:British men sprinters]]
[[Category:Scottish men long jumpers]]
[[Category:Athletes from Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Scottish Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Systems engineers]]
[[Category:Scottish engineers]]
[[Category:People educated at Liberton High School]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics]]