Robert Cameron Sharp (born 3 June 1958) is a Scottish former sprinter. In 1978 he won a gold medal at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in the 4 × 100 m relay alongside David Jenkins,

Allan Wells Allan Wipper Wells (born 3 May 1952) is a Scottish former track and field sprinter who became the 100 metres Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Within a fortnight of that, he also took on and beat America's best sprinter ...

, and

Drew McMaster Andrew Emlyn "Drew" McMaster (born 10 May 1957 in Edinburgh) is a retired Scottish sprinter. In 1976, he was Scottish, AAA's Indoor, and Junior 200 metres champion. He went on to win two further Scottish 200 metres titles in 1977, and 7 ...

. He went on to compete in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games picking up three bronze medals, in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, and 4x100 metres relay. In 1975 he won the Scottish schoolboys 100 and 200 championships. He went on to compete at the

1980 Summer Olympic Games The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in the 100m, 200m where he reached the semi finals of both sprints, and was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay where the U.K. finished 4th in the final in a new British record. He took the silver medal in the 200 m at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1982, narrowly losing the gold to East German sprinter

Olaf Prenzler Olaf Prenzler (born 2 April 1958) is an East German former sprinter who specialised in the 100 and 200 metres. Career Prenzler was born in 1958 in Kästorf near Gifhorn in Lower Saxony, Germany. He was a European Junior silver medallist in the ...

, but beating another top East German (

Frank Emmelmann Frank Emmelmann (born 15 September 1961 in Groß Börnecke, Saxony-Anhalt) is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 100 and 200 metres. Biography In 1981 he was 2nd in the European cup final in the 100 metres, to the 1980 Mos ...

, the 100 metre winner) into bronze. Sharp also finished fourth in the 100 metres final, again narrowly missing out on a medal. He also competed at the

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983. Summary The overall med ...

and again reached the semi finals of both the sprints, narrowly missing out in places of the finals. He was also Scottish 100 m and 200 m champion with a famous 100 m victory over 1980 Olympic champion Allan Wells. Sharp also won three UK National Championships, the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

100 metres and was also the AAA's indoor

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

champion. He competed in his third Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1986, where he won another bronze medal with the sprint relay team.

Personal bests

*100 metres – 10.20 seconds *200 metres – 20.47 seconds

Personal life

In 1991 he was involved in a serious car accident which left him physically and mentally disabled. Married to Carol Lightfoot, former Scottish 800 metre runner, and has two daughters, one of whom,

Lynsey Lindsay or Lindsey () is an English surname and given name. The given name comes from the Scottish surname and clan name, which comes from the toponym Lindsey, which in turn comes from the Old English toponym ''Lindesege'' ("Island of Lind") ...

, competes as an 800-metre runner. Both daughters are national athletics champions.

References