John Henry FitzSimons (born 12 February 1943) is a British former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competed in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. He was the gold medallist at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

, winning with a games record throw of . He is a former British record holder and was the first British man to throw the javelin beyond eighty metres. His personal best is . He was the 1964 winner of 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 ...

and was runner-up tin Finland's

Jorma Kinnunen Jorma can refer to: *Jorma (name), Finnish given name *Jorma (album), released by Kaukonen in 1979 *Jorma (wine), a Finnish wine *nowadays in Finnish language ''jorma'' is a very well-known slang word that means penis A penis (plural ''p ...

in 1966. As well as his 1966 gold, he returned to win a bronze medal 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 ...

, helping England to the first ever medal sweep of the javelin by a nation, alongside compatriots Dave Travis and

John McSorley John Victor McSorley (born 1941), is a male former athlete who competed for England. Athletics career He represented England in the hammer, javelin and shot put at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia. Eig ...

. He represented Great Britain at the

1966 European Athletics Championships The 8th European Athletics Championships were held from 30 August to 4 September 1966 in the Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Nép Stadium in Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic, Hungary. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Hera ...

but ranked only 22nd overall. He also played

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

from 1960–1962, making eight appearances in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzSimons, John Living people 1943 births English male javelin throwers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games English cricketers Berkshire cricketers Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games