Janet Mary Simpson (2 September 1944 – 14 March 2010) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

athlete who competed in sprint events and the 400 metres. She competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan in the 4 x 100 metres relay, where she won the bronze medal with her team-mates

Mary Rand Mary Denise Rand, MBE (née Bignal on 10 February 1940) is an English former track and field athlete. She won the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics by breaking the world record, the first British female to win an Olympic gold medal in track ...

, Daphne Arden and

Dorothy Hyman Dorothy Hyman (born 9 May 1941) is a retired English sprinter. She competed at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m events, winning three medals. She also won individual 100 m gold and 200 m silver at the 1962 ...

. She emulated her mother,

Violet Webb Violet Blanche Webb (later ''Simpson'', 3 February 1915 – 27 May 1999) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was born in Willesden and died in ...

, who had won bronze in the same event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Simpson competed for England in the 1966 Commonwealth Games held in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, in the 4 x 110 yards relay, where she won the silver medal with her team-mates Maureen Tranter, Daphne Slater and Jill Hall. She finished fourth in the 400 metres final at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

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, missing the bronze medal by only 0.32 seconds. She also was a member of the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

team that won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 m relay at the

1969 European Championships in Athletics The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

in Athens, Greece, setting a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

time of 3:30.8 minutes. Running the third leg, Janet ran the joint fastest time (52.1) of the British quartet and made up 15 metres on the leader, Eliane Jacq of France. The other members of that victorious team were

Rosemary Stirling Rosemary Olivia Wright (née Stirling, born 11 December 1947) is a former British sprinter and middle-distance runner. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1969 European Championships, and a gold medal in the 800m at the 1970 C ...

, Pat Lowe and

Lillian Board Lillian Barbara Board, (13 December 1948 – 26 December 1970) was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in ...

. She retired from athletics in 1969 but made a comeback to compete in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, helping the

relay squad finish fifth in the final of the 4 x 400 metres in British record time (3:28.75). She later married the Swiss sprinter Philippe Clerc, 200 m champion at the

1969 European Athletics Championships The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

. She died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

on 14 March 2010 at the age of 65.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Janet 1944 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Chipping Barnet British female sprinters English female sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) English Olympic medallists Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games