Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh 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 eve ...

athlete who specialised in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. He was born in Nantymoel near

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

and was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club. Davies won an

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece be ...

in the long jump in 1964 with a mark of , earning himself the nickname "Lynn the Leap". He finished ninth in 1968, having been flag bearer at the opening ceremony. In 1964 he also competed 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 contest ...

and 4×100 metres contests. He was 18th in the 1972 Olympic long jump, his selection being something of a surprise at the time. Outside the Olympics, Davies was the 1966 European champion in the long jump and was the silver medallist three years later. He was also twice 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 British Empire Game ...

champion, winning titles in 1966 and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

(becoming the first man to win that title two times). Davies was twice a winner of the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award, taking the honour in 1964 and 1966. After retiring from competitions in 1973 he became

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...

of Canadian athletics until 1976 and later prepared the British team for the Moscow Olympics. Davies was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, a ...

"for services to Sport, in particular Athletics." He had previously been appointed a Member of the same order (MBE) in the

1967 New Year Honours Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular ...

for services to athletics.United Kingdom list: He was elected unopposed as President of the

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

Members Council for a further four years following the close of nominations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Lynn 1942 births Living people Sportspeople from Bridgend County Borough Welsh male long jumpers Welsh male sprinters Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic gold 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 Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Welsh Olympic medallists Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games European Athletics Championships medalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade