Elliott began running competitively at the age of eight. He ran his first sub-four-minute mile in 1958; and in that year he set a new world record for the mile of 3 min 54.5 sec and for the 1,500-metre race of 3 min 36 sec. Elliott ran the mile in less than 4 minutes 10 times in 1958 and 17 times during his career. At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he won the gold medal in the 1,500-metre race, beating the second runner by 20 yards and setting a new record of 3 min 35.6 sec. He retired from competition in 1962.