Robert de Castella

Francois Robert de Castella (born 27 February 1957) is an Australian former world champion marathon runner.

De Castella is widely known as "Deek" or "Deeks" 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. Rob de Castella attended Xavier College in Melbourne where he was an outstanding track athlete and trained under Pat Clohessy from the age of 11.

1980 Olympic Games Moscow At his first big international marathon competition, DeCastella finished 10th in a time of 2:14:31, in a field of 74 runners. 21 competitors did not finish.

1981 Fukuoka Marathon De Castella first came to international attention when he won the 1981 Fukuoka Marathon in a time of 2:08:18, which was the fastest time recorded for an out-and-back course. It was not initially known to be a world best time, because his 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 metres short. De Castella's time was later ratified as the world record.

1982 Commonwealth Games Marathon De Castella was the favourite to win the marathon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. At the start of the race, Tanzanians Gidamis Shahanga and Juma Ikangaa raced to the lead and were 50 m ahead of the pack after five minutes. After the 20 km mark, this gap had widened to several hundred meters. At the halfway mark, De Castella developed diarrhoea. In 100% humidity, he let go of his bowels and signalled for some damp towels from his crew members. By the 23 km mark, Ikangaa had taken the lead from his compatriot, with de Castella in the main pack some 250 m behind but closing. De Castella passed the now-tiring Shahanga at the 38 km mark, and in the next kilometre drew level with Ikangaa and then took the lead. However, Ikangaa was not done yet, and he re-took the lead slightly. The duel continued for the remainder of the race. Eventually, de Castella pulled away and won by 80 metres in a time of 2:09:18, 12 seconds ahead of Ikangaa. Briton Mike Gratton finished third in 2:12:06, and Shahanga faded to finish 6th. The race finished on the streets of Brisbane, not in the main stadium.

1983 Rotterdam Marathon In April 1983, De Castella defeated a deep field to win the Rotterdam Marathon. The race was billed as a clash between de Castella and Salazar, who at the time was undefeated, and was also televised live back to Australia. De Castella dropped all of the field except Carlos Lopes (who would win the Olympic marathon the next year), and defeated Lopes in a sprint for the finish, winning in a time of 2:08:37.

1983 IAAF World Championships

De Castella won Australia's first athletic World Championships gold medal when he won the marathon in August 1983, beating Ethiopian Kebede Balcha by 24 seconds and Olympic champion Waldemar Cierpinski by 34 seconds.

1984 Olympic Games De Castella was the favourite for the 1984 Summer Olympics marathon. He caught some of the leaders during the final kilometres, and finished fifth.

1986 Commonwealth Games De Castella defended his Commonwealth Games title in Edinburgh, winning in 2:10:15.

Post career and life De Castella failed to finish the marathon at the 1987 World Athletics Championships.

He retired from the sport in 1993 and lives in Canberra, together with his wife Theresa and four children. 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. and subsequently became executive director of Focus On You, a company focusing on corporate and community health and fitness. He also fronts the Indigenous Marathon Project. In 2009, he founded the Stromlo Running Festival, an annual trail running event held at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra. 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. 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".

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.

Results 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" 1983 – Australian of the Year 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.