View source for Steve Backley

{{short description|English javelin thrower (born 1969)}}
{{BLP sources|date=July 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson 
| name             = Steve Backley <br /> <small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
| image            = <!-- name.jpg -->
| image_size       = <!--Only for images narrower than 220 pixels.-->
| alt              = 
| caption          = 
| nationality      = British (English)
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1969|2|12|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Sidcup]], England
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| years_active     = 1989–2004 
| height           = 1.95 m<ref>{{cite web|title=Steve Backley|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/steve-backley-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417115346/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/steve-backley-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|work=sports-reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=9 February 2014}}</ref>
| weight           = 102&nbsp;kg
| sport            = [[Track and field]]
| event            = [[Javelin throw]]
| club             = Cambridge Harriers
<!--| worlds           = {{unbulleted list
|'''[[1995 World Championships in Athletics|1995 Gothenburg]]''': Javelin throw; Silver
|'''[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 Athens]]''': Javelin throw; Silver
}}-->
| regionals        = {{Unbulleted list
|'''[[1990 European Athletics Championships|1990 Split]]''': Javelin throw; Gold
|'''[[1994 European Athletics Championships|1994 Helsinki]]''': Javelin throw; Gold
|'''[[1998 European Athletics Championships|1998 Budapest]]''': Javelin throw; Gold
|'''[[2002 European Athletics Championships|2002 Munich]]''': Javelin throw; Gold
}}
| nationals        = 
<!--| olympics         = {{unbulleted list
|'''[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona]]''': Javelin throw; Bronze
|'''[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta]]''': Javelin throw; Silver
|'''[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]''': Javelin throw; Silver
}}-->
| paralympics      = 
| highestranking   = 
| pb               = '''[[List of British records in athletics|NR]]''' 91.46 [[metre|m]] (1992)
| medaltemplates   = {{Medal|Sport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country | {{GBR2}} }}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Athletics at the Olympic Games|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta]]|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney]]|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Barcelona]]|[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics - Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics|1995 Gothenburg]]|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|1997 Athens]]|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Comp|[[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1990 European Championships in Athletics|1990 Split]]|[[1990 European Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1994 European Championships in Athletics|1994 Helsinki]]|[[1994 European Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1998 European Championships in Athletics|1998 Budapest]]|[[1998 European Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2002 European Championships in Athletics|2002 Munich]]|[[2002 European Championships in Athletics - Men's Javelin|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Universiade]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1989 Summer Universiade|1989 Duisburg]] | [[Athletics at the 1989 Summer Universiade|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1991 Summer Universiade|1991 Sheffield]] | [[Athletics at the 1991 Summer Universiade|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Country|{{ENG}}}}
{{Medal|Comp|[[Athletics at the Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1990 Commonwealth Games|1990 Auckland]]|[[Athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1994 Commonwealth Games|1994 Victoria]]|[[Athletics at the 1994 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2002 Commonwealth Games|2002 Manchester]]|[[Athletics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games - Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[1998 Commonwealth Games|1998 Kuala Lumpur]]|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|Javelin]]}}
| show-medals      = 
| updated          = 10 February 2014
}}
'''Stephen James Backley''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (born 12 February 1969) is an English retired [[track and field]] athlete who competed in the [[javelin throw]]. He formerly held the [[Men's javelin throw world record progression|world record]], and his {{convert|91.46|m|adj=on}} throw from 1992 is the [[List of British records in athletics|British record]]. During his career, he was a firm fixture in the [[UK Athletics|British national athletics team]]. He won four [[gold medal]]s at the [[European Athletics Championships|European Championships]], three [[Commonwealth Games]] gold medals, two [[Silver medal|silvers]] and a [[Bronze medal|bronze]] at the [[Olympic Games]], and two silvers at the [[IAAF World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]. Currently, he is an occasional commentator for athletics competitions, especially the field events.

== Career ==
=== Early life ===
Backley was educated at Hurst Primary School, [[London Borough of Bexley|Bexley]], and later at Bexley and Erith Technical High School for Boys (now [[Beths Grammar School]]) in his teens. He was a member of the [[List of sub-regions used in the London Plan#2008–2011|South East London]]-based Cambridge Harriers Athletics club,<ref>{{cite web |title=Olympians |website=cambridgeharriers.org |url=https://www.cambridgeharriers.org/olympians |access-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330140611/https://www.cambridgeharriers.org/olympians |archive-date=30 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> and competed for Bexley in the [[London Youth Games]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonyouthgames.org/page.asp?section=23&sectionTitle=Hall+of+Fame|title=Hall of Fame retrieved 2013-02-19}}</ref> He enrolled at [[Loughborough University]] in October 1988 to study for a [[BSc]] [[Honours degree]] in [[physical education]], [[sports science]] and recreation management. Although he completed his first year there and remained a student until 2002, the time he dedicated to the [[javelin]] prevented him from completing his studies. However, on 16 December 2002 Loughborough University<ref>{{cite web |title=University Honours archive {{!}} Graduation {{!}} Loughborough University |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/graduation/honorary-graduates/archive/ |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=www.lboro.ac.uk}}</ref> honoured him with the degree of [[Doctor of Technology]] honoris causa.

Backley's first significant title, was won in 1987 when he threw 75.14 metres to pick up the [[Europe]]an junior title, ahead of [[Vladimir Sasimovich]] (73.24) of [[Russia]] and [[East German]] [[Raymond Hecht]] (72.78). In 1988, Backley won the silver medal at the 1988 [[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]. He also broke the world junior record that year.

=== 1990–1993: World records ===
In July 1990, Backley set a world record of 89.58m in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]].<ref name=Personally>{{cite web |url=https://www.personallyspeakingbureau.com/speaker/steve-backley/|title=Steve Backley – Personally Speaking Bureau|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref> The record was then bettered by the Czech thrower [[Jan Železný]] a few weeks later, but Backley then regained the record with a throw 90.98m at [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|Crystal Palace]], [[London]], to end the year as the world record holder. [[Finland]]'s [[Seppo Räty]] then bettered the record in 1991. The records set by Železný and Räty, as well as Backley's 90.98m throw, had all been made using new 'Nemeth' javelins, however in August 1991 the [[IAAF]] declared this type of javelin illegal and all records set using them were retrospectively deleted. As a consequence, the world record reverted to the 89.58m mark that Backley had set in 1990. Backley then set another world record of 91.46m in January 1992 in [[New Zealand]], a record which stood until 1993, when it was bettered by Železný.<ref name=Personally />

=== 2000 Olympics and 2001 World championships ===
Backley started the year recovering from knee surgery throwing 82.19m against the [[United States|U.S.]] in [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]]. The injury forced him to withdraw from the European Cup Super League meeting in [[Gateshead]], [[England]] in early July. Due to injury his second competition came in August, taking second (85.84m) to [[Finland]]s [[Aki Parviainen]] in the [[Norwich Union]] Grand Prix and improved to 86.70m in winning the [[Amateur Athletic Association|AAA Championship]].

At [[Sydney]], Australia, for the [[2000 Summer Olympics]] he beat the qualifying mark with his very first throw (83.74m), although the favourite, [[Jan Železný]], threw an enormous qualifying throw of 89.39m. In the final, Backley set a new Olympic record with his second throw of 89.95m, but in the third round two-time champion Železný threw a distance of 90.17m. Subsequent rounds did not see improvements from either competitor and again Železný won the gold medal ahead of Backley. [[Sergey Makarov (athlete)|Sergey Makarov]] took bronze.

With the [[2001 World Championships in Athletics]] to look forward to, he threw over ninety metres for the first time since 1992 at the British Grand Prix at [[Crystal Palace National Sports Centre|Crystal Palace]] on 22 July. He had trailed behind [[Latvia]]n [[Ēriks Rags]] (86.47) and [[United States|American]] [[Breaux Greer]] (85.91) who had both produced personal bests before he pulled out a huge 90.81 with his final throw.

This should have given him an enormous for boost for the worlds in [[Edmonton]], but on 10 August Backley had not taken his A-game to the show.  He could only manage 81.50 in the qualifying rounds and when both pools had finished this left him way down in thirteenth place.  One consolation was that his teammate [[Mick Hill (javelin thrower)|Mick Hill]] had qualified well, but even this good news was short lived as Mick unfortunately picked up an injury and only managed to record one distance in the final, finishing last.

[[Jan Železný]] took gold with a championship record of 92.80 ahead of Aki Parviainen (91.31) and [[Konstadinos Gatsioudis|Konstadinós Gatsioúdis]] of [[Greece]] (89.95). [[United States|American]], [[Breaux Greer]] once again increased his personal best to 87.00 in finishing one place outside the medals.

Such was his disgust at his performance he had been contemplating retirement but re-appeared in [[Gateshead]],{{citation needed|date=August 2008}} for the Norwich Union Classic and gained a little revenge by beating world silver medallist Aki Parviainen with a throw of 86.74. Of his six throws this day five of them would have qualified for final nine days earlier.

Backley then travelled to [[Brisbane]] in September to take part in the [[Goodwill Games]] but despite leading after two rounds, the up and down season continued and he could not improve to leave Jan Železný on top once again ahead of [[Ēriks Rags]] and [[Breaux Greer]].

=== 2002 Commonwealth and European champion ===
It was going to be a busy with two major back-to-back competitions, the [[Commonwealth Games]] on 25 July – 4 August and the European Championships on 6–11 August .

On 31 July was the first test and with no major competition he knew that he had reclaimed his Commonwealth title after his very first throw of 86.81 in the City of [[Manchester]] Stadium. Runner up [[Scott Russell (athletics)|Scott Russell]] of [[Canada]] was nearly eight metres back with (78.98) and [[England]]'s bronze medallist [[Nick Nieland]] managed only 78.63.  This gave Backley a [[hat-trick]] of Commonwealth titles.

The [[2002 European Championships in Athletics#Field|European Championships]] in [[Munich]] would be much stiffer task with all of the World's leading exponents on show.  Producing an opening throw of 86.29 and then surpassing that marginally in the third with 86.37 it was obvious that he was in form but he still trailed behind [[Russia]]n leader [[Sergey Makarov (athlete)|Sergey Makarov]] who had sent out a massive 88.05 first round throw.

World record holder [[Jan Železný]] again found the European title beyond him and did not manage to record a distance so was eliminated after the third round. This seemed to inspire Backley and the reigning champion went half a metre past the leader in the fifth with 88.54.  Makarov couldn't respond to this and ended up with silver with [[Germany]]'s [[Boris Henry]] taking bronze with 85.33.  This fantastic achievement made Backley the first British athlete to win four consecutive [[European Championships in Athletics|European Championship]] golds.

=== Closing career ===
Backley began the year having problems with a [[knee injury]], but with an early season win in [[Sweden]] under his belt, and another victory on 13 July at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Gateshead, throwing 85.69 to defeat Boris Henry (83.52) and Alexandr Ivanov (81.69), he put injury firmly behind him.

A couple of weeks later at the North Down International at [[Bangor, Northern Ireland|Bangor]] Northern Ireland his opening throw of 81.42m was once again good enough to see off the competition.

It was therefore disappointing when after managing to qualify for the final, only in seventh position, at the [[IAAF]] championship [[Stade de France]], [[Paris]], on the final weekend of August, his third and best throw of only 80.13m could not take him through to the last eight in the Sunday final.  Sergey Makarov took the title with 85.44 ahead of [[Andrus Värnik]] 85.17 and Boris Henry 84.74 with these all being recorded in the first round.

In Backley's final year of competition in 2004, where he was hoping to add to his Olympic medal haul, he struggled to find form and at the [[2004 Summer Olympics]] in [[Athens]], [[Greece]], in a wide-open field, he only made the final as the last non-automatic qualifier. In the final his third round throw of 84.13 metres pulled him up to fourth place but he could not improve on this and finished in that position unable to gain a medal at his fourth consecutive games.

== Personal best ==
Backley's personal best was 91.46 metres achieved on 25 January 1992 at [[North Shore City]], [[New Zealand]]. That throw still stands as the British record in men's javelin.

==Life outside athletics==
Backley was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in the 1995 New Year's Honours list, and then an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 2003. He was inducted into the [[London Youth Games Hall of Fame]] in 2009. Backley was on a special Olympic medal winners' version of ''[[Jungle Run]]'', in which he, [[Mark Foster (swimmer)|Mark Foster]], and [[Iwan Thomas]] collected the most monkey statues.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

Backley competed in the 2008 edition of ''[[Dancing on Ice]]'' with partner [[Susie Lipanova]]. He survived three consecutive skate-offs against [[Samantha Mumba]], [[Aggie MacKenzie]] and [[Tim Vincent]]. However, Backley ended up in the skate-off for the fourth time in a row, where he lost out to [[Zaraah Abrahams]] and her partner [[Fred Palascak]] after the judges chose to save her. Backley finished 7th.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2008/01/what_do_you_rink_about_the_new.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109090753/http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2008/01/what_do_you_rink_about_the_new.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 January 2008|title=Blogposts |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

Backley has been a regular commentator for the BBC, working on athletics events. At the [[Beijing 2008]] and [[London 2012|London 2012 Olympics]], he commentated for ''[[BBC Radio 5 Live]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – Press Office – 2008 Olympics press pack: 5 Live team |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/06_june/19/olympics8.shtml |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=15 May 2012 |title=London 2012 Olympics: BBC presenters and commentary teams |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/18070768 |access-date=3 May 2025 |work=BBC Sport }}</ref> At the [[Rio 2016]], [[2020 Summer Olympics|Tokyo 2020]] and [[Paris 2024 Olympics]], Backley was the corporation's main field athletics commentator on television.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rio 2016 on the BBC – TV |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/rio/tv |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tokyo 2020 on the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/mediapacks/tokyo-2020/ |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fall in love with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/olympic-games-paris-2024-on-the-bbc |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> He also worked commentated on the television coverage of the [[Glasgow 2014]], [[Gold Coast 2018]] and [[Birmingham 2022|Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Biographies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/cwg/biogs |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games on the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/commonwealth-games-2018#:~:text=The%20TV%20line-up%20includes,Paula%20Radcliffe%20and%20Katharine%20Merry. |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on the BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/birmingham-2022-commonwealth-games-on-the-bbc#:~:text=Daily%20coverage%20will%20begin%20on,for%20all%20the%20athletics%20events. |access-date=3 May 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk }}</ref>

In August 2014, Backley was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|independence referendum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories &#124; Politics |work=The Guardian|date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref>

== International competitions ==
{| {{AchievementTable}}
|-
!colspan="5"|Representing {{GBR2}} and {{ENG}}
|-
|1987
|[[1987 European Athletics Junior Championships|European Junior Championships]]
|[[Birmingham]], United Kingdom
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|75.14 m
|-
|1988
|[[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]
|[[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury, Canada]]
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[1988 World Junior Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|75.40 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1989
|[[Athletics at the 1989 Summer Universiade|Universiade]]
|[[Duisburg, West Germany]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[Athletics at the 1989 Summer Universiade – Men's javelin throw|85.60 m]]
|-
|[[1989 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]]
|[[Barcelona]], Spain
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1989 IAAF World Cup results#Javelin throw|85.90 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1990
|[[Athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Auckland]], New Zealand
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[Athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|86.02 m]]
|-
|[[1990 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Split, Croatia|Split]], Yugoslavia
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1990 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw|87.30 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1991
|[[Athletics at the 1991 Summer Universiade|Universiade]]
|[[Sheffield, United Kingdom]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[Athletics at the 1991 Summer Universiade – Men's javelin throw|87.42 m]]
|-
|[[1991 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Tokyo]], Japan
|15th (q)
|[[1991 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|78.24 m]]
|-
|1992
|[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Barcelona]], Spain
|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd
|[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw|83.38 m]]
|-
|1993
|[[1993 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Stuttgart]], Germany
|4th
|[[1993 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|81.80 m]]
|-
|rowspan=3|1994
|[[Athletics at the 1994 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria, Canada]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[Athletics at the 1994 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|82.74 m]]
|-
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Helsinki]], Finland
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw|85.20 m]]
|-
|[[1994 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]]
|[[London]], United Kingdom
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1994 IAAF World Cup results#Javelin throw|85.02 m]]
|-
|1995
|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Gothenburg]], Sweden
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[1995 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|86.30 m]]
|-
|1996
|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Atlanta]], United States
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw|87.44 m]]
|-
|1997
|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Athens]], Greece
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[1997 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|86.80 m]]
|-
|rowspan=3|1998
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Budapest]], Hungary
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw|89.72 m]]
|-
|[[1998 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]]
|[[Johannesburg]], South Africa
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[1998 IAAF World Cup results#Javelin throw|88.71 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[Athletics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|87.38 m]]
|-
|1999
|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Seville]], Spain
|8th
|[[1999 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|83.84 m]]
|-
|2000
|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Sydney]], Australia
|bgcolor=silver|2nd
|[[Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw|89.85 m]]
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Edmonton]], Canada
|14th (h)
|[[2001 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|81.50 m]]
|-
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Goodwill Games|Goodwill Games]]
|[[Brisbane]], Australia
|4th
|[[Athletics at the 2001 Goodwill Games – Results#Javelin throw|83.34 m]]
|-
|rowspan=3|2002
|[[Athletics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games]]
|[[Manchester]], United Kingdom
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[Athletics at the 2002 Commonwealth Games – Men's javelin throw|86.81 m]]
|-
|[[2002 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Munich]], Germany
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|[[2002 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw|88.54 m]]
|-
|[[2002 IAAF World Cup|World Cup]]
|[[Madrid]], Spain
|4th
|[[2002 IAAF World Cup results#Javelin throw|79.39 m]]
|-
|2003
|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics|World Championships]]
|[[Paris]], France
|9th
|[[2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw|80.13 m]]
|-
|2004
|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Athens]], Greece
|4th
|[[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw|84.13 m]]
|}

==Seasonal bests by year==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=June 2022}}
World Record and / or 90m+ in '''bold'''.
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*1987 – 78.16
*1988 – 79.50
*1989 – 85.90
*1990 – '''90.98 <s>World record</s>'''{{efn|name=fn1|As [[#1990–1993: World records|detailed above]], the Németh model javelin introduced in 1990 was retroactively deemed illegal by the IAAF in August 1991}}
**1990 – '''89.58 World record'''{{efn|name=fn1}}
*1991 – 87.42
*1992 – '''91.46 World record'''
*1993 – 85.10
*1994 – 85.20
*1995 – 88.54
*1996 – 87.44
*1997 – 89.02
*1998 – 89.89
*1999 – 87.59
*2000 – 89.85
*2001 – 90.81
*2002 – 88.54
*2003 – 85.69
*2004 – 84.13
}}
{{notelist}}

== See also ==
*[[Lists of Olympic medalists]]
*[[List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Olympics.com}}
* {{Team GB}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130421002937/http://www.nyt.co.uk/steve-backley.htm STEVE BACKLEY Timeline]}}. NYT. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
*[http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/steve-backley/ Steve Backley Profile by MTC Talent Management]
*{{Official website}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|before={{flagicon|SWE}} [[Patrik Bodén]]|title=[[Men's javelin throw world record progression|Men's Javelin World Record Holder]]|years= 2 July 1990 &ndash; 6 April 1993|after={{flagicon|CZE}} [[Jan Železný]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Footer Commonwealth Champions Javelin Men}}
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{{Footer Universiade Champions Javelin Men}}
{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions Javelin Throw Men}}
{{IAAF World Athlete of the Year (men)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Backley, Steve}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Sidcup]]
[[Category:Athletes from the London Borough of Bexley]]
[[Category:English men javelin throwers]]
[[Category:British men javelin throwers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:English Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Beths Grammar School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Loughborough University]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics]]