Roger Black MBE

For over 14 years, Roger Black MBE represented Great Britain at the highest level in the world of athletics as an individual 400m runner and a member of the 4x400m relay team. In his athletic career, he won 15 major championship medals, including three Olympic, four World Championships, six European Championships and two Commonwealth.

His greatest achievement was winning the Olympic 400m silver medal in the 1996 games in Atlanta, and he is particularly admired for his triumphs over adversity, successfully overcoming several serious injuries throughout his career.

He was awarded an MBE in 1992 for his services to sport, and is now a TV presenter, business owner and motivational speaker. He is one of those unique people who have achieved greatness both as an individual and as part of a team and so understands the dynamics of becoming a champion. Utilising this experience, Roger is able to inspire and entertain audiences up and down the country through his speeches, Q&As and event hosting.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book Olympic Legend and TV Presenter Roger Black for your next event.

Type Of Talent

After DinnerBusiness & FinanceHealth & WellbeingHigh PerformanceKeynoteLeadership & TeamworkMotivationalOlympians/ParalympiansPresentersResilienceSpeakerSportVirtual Speakers

More About Roger Black MBE

SPORT

Roger Black’s sporting prowess started young when he was a crucial member of his local football team, stemming a love for running. Unfortunately, due to a leaky heart valve, he was prevented from taking up athletics until he turned 18, however once he started training, it wasn’t long before he rose to prominence, winning the European Junior Championships just one year later.

Within the next five years he would go on to join the senior ranks, winning two Commonwealth gold medals, four European Championship gold medals, a World Championship gold and a silver by 1991 in the individual and team events. At the European games in 1996, he managed to set a new British record, which as of 2022, still stands as the second-fastest time recorded by a British runner.

Roger remained top of his game until 1998 where, after a bout of injuries and not being selected for that year’s European games, he retired. He didn’t step out of the world of athletics altogether though, being an ambassador for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Flora London Marathon, as well as a popular sporting commentator.

MEDIA

Since his retirement from sport, Roger has presented shows for BBC Breakfast News (2001-2010), GMTV (2004-2005) and News 24. He signed up to BBC Sport in 1998 and has covered everything from the Olympics to the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games to the European Championships.

He is also a popular face on reality and panel shows including A Question of Sport (1986-2019), Grandstand (2000), Superstars (2008), They Think It’s All Over (1995-2003), Strictly Come Dancing (2004) and Celebrity Masterchef (2006) – where he reached the final.

Thanks to his vast experience and numerous anecdotes, Roger released his autobiography How Long’s the Course in 1998, documenting his diary notes from the height of his athletic career.

BUSINESS

Roger now splits his time between motivational speaking and running his own businesses. He runs a training company with fellow Olympian Steve Backley; ‘Backleyblack’ is a training programme that draws from their own experiences and mental mindset in sport and turns them into practical ways of improving businesses.

He also runs his own standalone company, Roger Black Fitness, which offers folding and static exercise equipment designed to help customers achieve their health and lifestyle goals, regardless of fitness levels.

Roger Black MBE - Team GB Athlete Resilience Teamwork Leadership entrepreneur buiness motivational speaker book at Great British Speakers

SPEAKING

SPEAKING TOPICS

– How to stay motivated

– Drive and determination

– Peak performance

– Goal setting

– Teamwork and leadership

– How to have a winning mentality

– Overcoming adversity

With a plethora of medals to his name, Olympic speaker and former champion Roger Black is one of the biggest names in the sport, and makes for an entertaining and popular choice to speak at your event.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book Olympic Champion and Speaker Roger Black for your corporate event.

Contact us.

Testimonials

We have quarterly events and the majority of the feedback has been that Roger is the best speaker we have had!
Accenture

Roger was an excellent guest speaker and leads the way in style and content. He held the audience’s complete attention with inspirational messages on achieving potential on both a business and personal level. There was something for everyone and his interaction with delegates was much appreciated.
Electrical Contractors Association

We had really great feedback on your session and you tailored it really well for the audience, so our Dutch and Nordic colleagues were very positive too.
Specsavers

Thank you for attending our workshop and providing us with a really valuable insight into what it takes to succeed. Your presences and the content of your session set the rest of the event up perfectly.
Southern Water

Roger did an excellent job for us being both engaging and informative. He arrived early, stayed late and was on message throughout the evening.
Lafarge Tarmac

The feedback has been fantastic. You managed to be both entertaining and highly relevant – no mean achievement given we had around 45 nationalities represented.
Dell

Many, many thanks for all your hard work. The content and delivery of your address was just wonderful, and yes, I heard it seven times. It was every bit as good at the end as it was at the beginning.
Royal Bank of Scotland

Thanks for your wonderfully inspirational speech, I know from speaking to many of our team afterwards that your message really connected with them and they are really focused as we move towards our ‘golden’ quarter.
Comet