Jannette Veronica Roscoe (née Champion; born 10 June 1946) is a female British sprinter.

Early life

She grew up in

Hale, Greater Manchester Hale is a suburb and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the village taken at the 2011 Census was 15,315. It is contiguous with the southeast of Altrincham, about southwe ...

, when in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Teaching career

In June 1970 she taught at Weaverham Secondary School. After marriage she lived at 102 Leicester Road in

Fleckney Fleckney is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A6 national route between Market Harborough and Leicester. The village appeared in the Domesday Book ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. Both her and her husband were teachers, where they drank 49 pints of milk a week - one pint at each meal, on a diet with lots of meat and cheese. She ate one pound of meat each day. Their food cost £8 a week. But Kraft Foods had sponsored the Olympic team, giving £2 of cheese a week to the 139 athletes. The couple found it difficult to afford their food each week. She trained 10 hours a week at Saffron Lane sports ground, and he trained 10 hours a week. At the weekend they trained at Loughborough, and in

Charnwood Forest Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; i ...

. If they lived in Germany, as an A-class athlete, she would receive £100 a month funding, and as a B-class athlete, he would receive £70 a month. She taught PE at Countesthorpe College. The village parish council offered to fund their food. By 1977 she was teaching PE at Trent Polytechnic, and by 1978 she was at Widnes. She taught Widnes Sixth Form College, now Riverside College, Widnes.

Athletics career

Roscoe competed in the women's 400 metres at 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. ...

. She also represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the 400 metres, at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Four years later she won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay with Ruth Kennedy, Sue Pettett and Verona Bernard, at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand.

Personal life

She married on 19 August 1970 at Altrincham, shortly after the Commonwealth games, when both were 24. Dennis Roscoe, a discus athlete, was from Woodland Avenue, Widnes Cheshire. She was born with two sets of six toes.''Leicester Chronicle'' Friday 5 May 1972, page 6

References

1946 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games British female sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Sportspeople from Royal Tunbridge Wells Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Olympic female sprinters Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Great Britain Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games {{UK-athletics-bio-stub