John Disley
Wales
Men's athletics | ||
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Representing ![]() | ||
Olympic Games | ||
![]() | 1952 Helsinki | 3000 m s'chase |
John Ivor Disley CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and administration.[1] He was born in Corris,[2] a village in Gwynedd and attended Oswestry Boys High School in Oswestry before studying at Loughborough College.[1]
He competed for Great Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki in the 3000 metres steeplechase where he won the bronze medal.[1] He set five British records in the steeplechase and four at two miles. He also set Welsh records at six different distances. He also broke the record for the traverse of the Welsh 3000 foot peaks.
He represented Wales twice at the Commonwealth Games, competing in 1954 and 1958, but did not win a medal either time. Disley's job was teaching PE at Isleworth Grammar School in south-west London.[1] In 1957, Disley became Chief Instructor, and later Committee Chairman - a position he held until 1966.
Disley was one of the founders of the London Marathon, first held in 1981, after running the New York Marathon in 1979 and being very impressed by its success. He was president of the London Marathon Charitable Trust.[1] Disley became vice-chairman of the UK Sports Council in 1974, a post he held until 1982. He was the leading pioneer of orienteering in the UK. He also competed in the 1966 World Orienteering Championships.[3] John was the Co-founder of Oswestry Olympians Athletics Club in Oswestry along with Doug Morris.
Disley was a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and was President of the Snowdonia Society. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1979 New Year Honours.[4]
John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award
The John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award is given in Disley's honour. Recipients of the award include:
- Paula Radcliffe, 2015[5]
- Hugh Jones, 2016[6]
- Brendan Foster, 2017[7]
- Liz McColgan, 2023[8]
- Tanni Grey-Thompson, 2024[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e "John Disley: London Marathon co-founder dies aged 87". BBC Wales. BBC. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ Peter Nichols (17 February 2017). "John Disley obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ "World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ United Kingdom list: "No. 47723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1978. p. 8.
- ^ Ingle, Sean (26 April 2015). "Paula Radcliffe ends her long and winding road at the London Marathon". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "London Marathon - Brasher hails London's Marathon Million". www.marathonguide.com. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "London Marathon 2017 - the stats". Runner's World. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "London Marathon - Liz McColgan receives John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award". www.marathonguide.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Grey-Thompson receives the John Disley Award". www.tcslondonmarathon.com. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Disley". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015.
External links
- John Disley
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- 1954 Ken Jones
- 1955 John Disley
- 1956 Joe Erskine
- 1957 Dai Rees
- 1958 Howard Winstone
- 1959 Graham Moore
- 1960 Brian Curvis
- 1961 Bryn Meredith
- 1962 Ivor Allchurch
- 1963 Howard Winstone
- 1964 Lynn Davies
- 1965 Clive Rowlands
- 1966 Lynn Davies
- 1967 Howard Winstone
- 1968 Martyn Woodroffe
- 1969 Tony Lewis
- 1970 David Broome
- 1971 John Dawes, the Wales national rugby union team & the Welsh Lions
- 1972 Richard Meade
- 1973 Berwyn Price
- 1974 Gareth Edwards
- 1975 Arfon Griffiths
- 1976 Mervyn Davies & the Wales national rugby union team
- 1977 Phil Bennett
- 1978 Johnny Owen
- 1979 Terry Griffiths
- 1980 Duncan Evans
- 1981 John Toshack
- 1982 Steve Barry
- 1983 Colin Jones
- 1984 Ian Rush
- 1985 Steve Jones
- 1986 Kirsty Wade
- 1987 Ian Woosnam
- 1988 Colin Jackson
- 1989 Stephen Dodd
- 1990 Ian Woosnam
- 1991 Ian Woosnam
- 1992 Tanni Grey
- 1993 Colin Jackson
- 1994 Steve Robinson
- 1995 Neville Southall
- 1996 Ryan Giggs
- 1997 Scott Gibbs
- 1998 Iwan Thomas
- 1999 Colin Jackson
- 2000 Tanni Grey-Thompson
- 2001 Joe Calzaghe
- 2002 Mark Hughes
- 2003 Nicole Cooke
- 2004 Tanni Grey-Thompson
- 2005 Gareth Thomas
- 2006 Joe Calzaghe
- 2007 Joe Calzaghe
- 2008 Shane Williams
- 2009 Ryan Giggs
- 2010 Gareth Bale
- 2011 Chaz Davies
- 2012 Jade Jones
- 2013 Leigh Halfpenny
- 2014 Geraint Thomas
- 2015 Dan Biggar
- 2016 Jade Jones
- 2017 Jonathan Davies
- 2018 Geraint Thomas
- 2019 Alun Wyn Jones
- 2020 No award
- 2021 Lauren Price
- 2022 Olivia Breen
- 2023 Emma Finucane