Lillian Barbara Board, (13 December 1948 – 26 December 1970) was a British

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

. She won the silver medal in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

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 ev ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and two gold medals 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 ...

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 a ...

. Her career was cut short in 1970 when she developed the

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

that within months would claim her life.

Early life

Board was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

on 13 December 1948. Her parents, George and Frances Board, had emigrated from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England, to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

in April 1947, along with their son George Alfred. Growing homesick shortly after the birth of Lillian and her

fraternal twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

sister, Irene, the family moved back to Manchester in February 1950. In 1956, the family moved to

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

, west London, where Lillian and Irene, then aged 7, started studying at Drayton Green School.

Developing athletics career

In 1960, at the age of 11, Lillian and her sister moved to Grange Secondary Modern Girls' School, also in Ealing and now part of

The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls is a comprehensive, foundation secondary school for 1400 girls aged 11–19 years, located in the London borough of Ealing. The school is named after Ellen Wilkinson, one of the first female MPs in Britain, ...

. It was here in 1961 that

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

teacher Sue Gibson (a

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

county discus champion) spotted that Lillian, now aged 12, had a special talent for running. She took her to join

London Olympiades London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a ma ...

, the leading all-female athletics club, which had a training base at

Alperton Alperton () is an area of north west London, England, within the London Borough of Brent. It forms the southern part of the town of Wembley and is west north-west of Charing Cross. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings ...

, north-west London. Here she competed in relays and 100 and 150-yard sprints. The following year, 1962, she began competing 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 ...

and after training through that winter, improved markedly as both a sprinter and long jumper. In 1963, aged 14, she won the junior long jump title at the All-England Schools Championships (now known as

The English Schools Championships The English Schools' Athletics Championships are annual national athletics competitions organised by the English Schools' Athletic Association ESAA for students in England aged 12–18 for track and field, cross country and race walking. The e ...

) with a leap of , and then finished second () in the long jump at the Women's

Amateur Athletic Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...

's national junior championships. She ended the season with victory in the long jump at the Southern Inter-Counties meeting, her leap of the best by a British junior girl that year. Trained by her father George and inspired by an illustrious club-mate, international long jumper and pentathlete

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 ...

, she concentrated on the sprints from the 1964 season with an emphasis on strength work and with a view to eventually moving up from the short sprints to the

440 Year 440 (CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anatolius (or, less frequently, year 1193 ''Ab urbe ...

and 880 yards, where George felt sure her future lay. She made her debut over both 220 yds and 880 yds in 1964, winning both events in times of 26.2 and 2:30.8, respectively. In 1965, aged 16, Board was a member of the London Olympiades squad that won the 4 × 100 m relay title at the Women's AAA junior championships. Later that year, she showed her versatility with a career best leap of 5.80 m in the Long Jump and indoor wins over 60 yards (7.2) and 300 yards (42.0). She also lowered her 100 y best time to 10.9 and her 220 y best to 24.7. Due to age rules, Board was unable to make her debut at the 440 yds until April 1966 when, aged 17 and now a senior, she finished a close second in an inter-club meeting at

Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

, London, in 58.1 seconds. She then ran 57.3 in the Southern Counties Championships, before taking fourth place in the Women's AAA senior 440 yds final in a time of 54.6, the fastest ever recorded by a 17-year-old in Europe. Meanwhile, she took a secretarial course at Chiswick Polytechnic after leaving school, and worked between training sessions as a

typist Typist is a person who types, a clerical worker who writes documents, using a typewriter. Skills and occupations Typist may also refer to: *Data entry clerk, someone who types data into a database via a computer or terminal. *Audio typist, someone ...

.Rachel Cutler, 'Board, Lillian Barbara (1948–1970)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 201
Retrieved 13 December 2011
/ref>

International success

1966 season

Board's performances at 400 m in the 1966 season earned her a place in the England team for 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 ex ...

held in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...

, that August. Here, after winning her 400 m heat (54.7), Board finished fifth in the final in a time of 54.7 seconds, just outside her personal best. It was a very creditable effort for a 17-year-old. Disappointingly, she was not then chosen for the Great Britain team at the European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

, which were held from 30 August – 4 September. However, such disappointment was short-lived as later in September, she made her Great Britain debut, achieving fourth in the 400 m (55.9) in a match against France in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

1967 season

Board firmly announced her arrival onto the international scene when, still aged only 18, she won the 400 m race in a Commonwealth v USA match in

Los Angeles, California 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 ...

on 9 July 1967. She came from last to first with a stunning late surge and won in a time of 52.8 seconds, the second fastest ever recorded by a European woman. The race was broadcast live on British television and made her into a household name. Winning in such style at the biggest meeting of year was clearly a turning point in her career.Watman, p. 104 She followed this momentous triumph with a run of four wins at 400 m in five international events, most notably securing the only victory for Britain's women (in a time of 53.7) in the 1967 European Cup, final in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

on 15 September. That season she also lowered her 200 m personal best to 24.6 and her 880 y best to 2.08.7. Recognition of a highly successful season came when she was chosen as Athlete of the Year by the Athletic Writers' Association.

1968 season and Olympic Games

Board began the 1968 season by winning the 440-yard race at an inter-club meeting in Brighton, her time of 54.8 comfortably inside the Olympic qualifying standard. She then leapt to the top of the world rankings after winning over 400 m (53.5) at an international meeting in Moscow. However, at the Women's AAA championships in July, she spurned the chance of an almost certain victory in the 400 m and instead decided to contest the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

. After winning her heat (2.05.7), she showed her huge potential in this event by running a superb 2:02.0 (the second fastest ever by a British woman), to finish 2nd to the reigning European 800 m champion,

Vera Nikolic Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, whose time of 2:00.5 was a new world record. She continued her preparations for Mexico with a personal best of 23.5 when winning the 200 m in a match against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

in August and taking the 400 m (53.0) against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

in September. She also anchored a British relay team to a new 4 × 110 y world record (45.0) later that month. After that excellent build-up, she went into the

as favourite to win the 400 m gold medal. After finishing a comfortable second in her 400 m heat (53.00), she won her semi-final in a personal best 52.56. In the final itself on 16 October, she only took the lead about 100 m from the finish and maintained her advantage well down the home straight. She looked certain to win but was caught just before the line by

Colette Besson Colette Besson (7 April 1946 – 9 August 2005) was a French athlete, the surprise winner of the 400 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Athletic career Prior to the 1968 Olympics, Besson, an unknown physical education teacher, qualifi ...

of France and beaten into second place by a mere 0.09 seconds. Setting a new UK record of 52.12 had not quite been enough to win gold. Nevertheless, it was an excellent effort by a 19-year-old competing in her first Olympics.History and Heroes from every Olympic Games since 1896; Sunday Times Great British Olympians
/ref>

1969 season and European Championships

In 1969, Board began the season with a personal best 11.9 for

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 ...

and a 52.9 contribution to a 4 × 400 metres world record (3:37.6), but in early July she strained ligaments in her back, forcing her to miss five weeks of the season. She returned in August with a 52.5 anchor leg in the 4 × 400 m relay to help Great Britain defeat the USA in an international match at London's

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football c ...

; and then gained a modicum of 'revenge' on her Olympic nemesis,

, when taking the 400 m (53.7) in a match against France in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

. However, her back was still painful, more so when she ran shorter distances, so she decided to go for the 800 metres 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, ...

that September. Still inexperienced at the longer event and ranked only 8th in Europe on her performances that season, she was not strongly fancied for 800 m gold. She won her heat comfortably (2:04.2) and then, two days later, produced a superb performance in the final on 18 September sprinting away from her rivals on the final bend and winning by eight metres in a personal best time of 2:01.4, a new championship record. She was the first British woman to win this European title, the second being

Lynsey Sharp Lynsey Sharp (born 11 July 1990) is a Scottish track and field athlete who competes in the 800 metres. She is the 2012 European Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres, 2012 European champion and represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summ ...

in 2012. Just two days later, 20 September, Board lined up for Great Britain in the 4 × 400 m relay. Running the last leg, she came from ten metres down entering the home straight to beat her old rival Besson, who was anchoring the French squad, in a dramatic

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

, not only winning gold for Britain but also helping to set a new

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 ...

of 3:30.8. Having claimed two gold medals, it was no surprise that she was named as 'Best Woman Athlete in the Games'. The relay team, featuring Board,

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 Janet Simpson, was the first British team to win that title at the competition. A further accolade came when she was appointed as a

Member 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 o ...

, for services to sport, in the 1970

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. Known as the Golden Girl of British athletics for her blonde good looks and medal success, Board had become a very popular public figure, earning herself another nickname: 'Britain's favourite girl'.Watman, p. 104 In December 1969, she was the 'mystery runner' at the ''Nos Galan'' (New Year's Eve) festival, held annually in the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

village of

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * '' Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosa ...

to commemorate the legendary Welsh runner, Guto Nyth Bran.

1970 season

Board ran two-mile races early in the 1970 campaign, partly to build up stamina for the 800 m and partly with the aim of becoming the first athlete to represent Britain at all distances, the 1500 m being the only one missing from her collection. After running a solid 4:55.7 on her miling debut, she was selected for an international mile race in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 16 May. Here she improved her personal best to 4:44.6, finishing second to a former mile world record holder, Paola Pigni of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Her time moved her to No 2 in the UK all-time lists for the women's mile, behind only another former world record holder at the distance, Anne Smith.

Cancer and early death

Initial health problems

Soon after the mile race in Rome, she began to suffer from stomach upsets. These were diagnosed as a virus and she was prescribed pills. She continued to feel unwell but still managed to contribute a 2:07.0 leg to a 4 × 800 m world record on 13 June in

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 ...

. She ran 2:06.8 six days later when winning her 800 m heat at the Women's AAA championships at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

, London, despite being doubled up in pain before the race. Pale and underweight, she then finished a tired third (2:05.1) in the 800 m final on 20 June.

Diagnosis and treatment

That 800 m final proved to be her last race. X-rays revealed inflammation of the

bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine en ...

and her condition was initially diagnosed as

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distensi ...

, forcing her to halt training and ruling her out of July's

in Edinburgh. However, after further X-rays, tests and two

biopsies A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a disea ...

she was correctly diagnosed with terminal

(or bowel cancer) in September 1970. An exploratory operation at St Mark's Hospital, London, on 8 October, revealed that the cancer had spread to her stomach and she was given two months to live. Seeking a cure, she travelled in November 1970 to the village of

Rottach-Egern Rottach-Egern () is a municipality (''Gemeinde Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee'') and town located at Lake Tegernsee in the district of Miesbach in Upper Bavaria, Germany, about 55 km (35 miles) south of central Munich. Late Austrian actor Walter Sl ...

, in the

Bavarian Alps The Bavarian Alps (german: Bayerische Alpen) is a collective name for several mountain ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps within the German state of Bavaria. Geography The term in its wider sense refers to that part of the Eastern Alps that ...

near

Munich, West Germany 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 ...

, to be treated by the controversial

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Josef Issels Josef M. Issels (November 21, 1907 – February 11, 1998) was a German physician known for promoting an alternative cancer therapy regimen, the Issels treatment. He claimed to cure cancer patients who had been declared incurable by convent ...

at his Ringberg Cancer Clinic. Adhering to his belief in non-mainstream treatments, she was placed on a strict diet of healthy food and with

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust ( pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...

and

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

as her only drinks. She then had her

tonsils The tonsils are a set of lymphoid organs facing into the aerodigestive tract, which is known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring and consists of the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. These organs play a ...

and two front teeth removed as Issels believed they helped spread infection. Her condition worsened and she was moved to an intensive care unit at the clinic on 11 December. The following day, she underwent an operation to drain water from her

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

Early death

She was transferred to

Munich University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous oper ...

Clinic on 21 December 1970, with suspected

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

. She was found not to have peritonitis but still needed to undergo an operation to remove a stomach blockage. This was done on 23 December. She recovered from the after-effects of the operation, but on 24 December she lapsed into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

from which she would not emerge. She died in Munich two days later, aged 22. She was cremated at

Putney Vale Crematorium Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in southwest London is located in Putney Vale, surrounded by Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It is located within of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938 ...

on 1 January 1971. A memorial service was held for her at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

, London, on 21 January 1971, and she is commemorated in Munich with an avenue bearing her name that leads to the

Munich Olympic Stadium Olympiastadion () is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the '' Olympiapark München'' in northern Munich, the stadium was the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The original capacity was maximally and officiall ...

. A biography entitled simply ''Lillian'' was published by her fiancé, David Emery, in 1971.

Honours and awards

*Voted 'Sportswoman of the Year' for 1968 by the

Sports Journalists' Association The Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) is an association for British sports journalists. It represents the British sports media on the British Olympic Association's press advisory committee and acts as a consultant to organizers of major events ...

. *Named 'Best Woman Athlete in the Games' at the

. *Appointed

(MBE) in the New Year's Honours List, 1970 for services to athletics. *Voted 'Sportswoman of the Year' for 1970 by readers of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'' newspaper. *British athlete Rebecca Lyne dedicated the bronze medal she won in the 800 m at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Championsh ...

to Lillian Board. *The footway from the

to the subway station was renamed as the ''Lillian-Board-Weg.'' *Lilian Board Way, Greenford, in her hometown of Ealing, bears her name. Due to an administrative error, the spelling of her first name was spelt incorrectly. *The Lillian Board Trophy, a memorial trophy provided by Irene Board and by Dame

Marea Hartman Dame Gladys Marea Hartman (22 June 1920 – 29 August 1994) was a British athletics sports administrator. She was one of the longest-serving and most influential sports administrators in 20th century British athletics. Marea Hartman is credite ...

, Chairwoman of the Woman's Commission of the IAAF and of the Women's AAA following Board's death is awarded each year for outstanding fundraising for cancer.

Achievements

National titles and records

*Won six titles at the WAAA's Championships, including the 440 yds title in 1967. *Set 11 UK records, including a 400 m record of 52.12 in 1968. *Helped set four relay

world records 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 organizat ...

(at 4 × 110 yds, 4 × 400 m (twice) and 4 × 800 m) between September 1968 and June 1970, running the anchor/last leg each time.

Personal bests

She only competed twice in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switc ...

and ceased competing in the

in 1967.

Personal life

Board was engaged to sports journalist David Emery at the time of her death. Emery was at her side throughout her illness. He subsequently married her twin sister Irene. A talented dressmaker and designer, Board often made her own clothes, including a pink coat she wore to receive the MBE from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in January 1970. She was the only female panellist on the first nationwide edition of

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

's quiz show ''

A Question of Sport ''Question of Sport'' (previously ''A Question of Sport'') is a British television sports quiz show produced and broadcast by the BBC. It is the "world's longest running TV sports quiz". Following a pilot episode in December 1968, broadcast on ...

'', broadcast on 5 January 1970. The other panellists were footballers

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest pla ...

and

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the s ...

and cricketer

Ray Illingworth Raymond Illingworth CBE (8 June 1932 – 25 December 2021) was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. , he was one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket.Arnold, Peter ...

. (The team captains were boxer Henry Cooper and rugby player

Cliff Morgan Clifford Isaac Morgan, (7 April 1930 – 29 August 2013) was a Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff RFC and earned 29 caps for Wales between 1951 and 1958. After his playing career ended, Morgan made a successful career in broadca ...

, and the presenter was

David Vine David Martin Vine (3 January 1935 – 11 January 2009) was an English television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards, most notably his coverage of major snooker tournaments for the BBC. Early life Born i ...

.) The recording of this historic edition of one of television's most popular and durable programmes (now in its 52nd year) is missing from the BBC archives.

References

Notes

*David Emery, (1971). ''Lillian'', Hodder & Stoughton, () *Mel Watman, (2006). ''All-time Greats of British Athletics'', (pp. 103–106), Sportsbooks Ltd.,()

External links

*
Sporting Heroes > Lillian Board > Career record

Sporting Heroes > Lillian Board > From triumph to tragedy in two short years

BBC News 1970: 'Golden girl' of British athletics dies
*
Snooker now joins a list of sports which mourn the loss of their bright, young stars
The Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Board, Lillian 1948 births 1970 deaths Sportspeople from Durban Sportspeople from Ealing South African people of English descent British female sprinters English female sprinters English female middle-distance runners Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Germany Deaths from colorectal cancer Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female sprinters Members of the Order of the British Empire