Mark Pharaoh (18 July 1931 – 27 April 2020) was a track and field athlete, who competed in the discus throw at both the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where he came fourth. This has been described as by far the finest single achievement in British discus history.UK ALL-TIME RANKINGS ''Top spot for Capes and Tancred'', MEL WATMAN rates the top British shot and discus throwers of all time, according to championship and record performances
He was also an international

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and hammer thrower. He was fifth in the shot put at the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fi ...

and second in the hammer at the

1953 Summer International University Sports Week The 1953 Summer International University Sports Week were organised by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and held in Dortmund, West Germany, between 7 and 14 August. Sports * Athletics at the 1953 Summer International Universi ...

.British Medallists at the WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UNIVERSIADE)
/ref> Mark Pharaoh was born 18 July 1931 and as a youth attended Manchester Grammar School where he excelled at sport and was an active member of the Gannet patrol of Troop 4 of the school's scouts. He went on to study at Manchester University.Profile at sports-reference.com
/ref> Having competed at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

and having won the British AAA's on four occasions he competed at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. He came fourth, setting a British record of 54.27 m. in the process and missing the bronze medal by just 13 cm. Pharaoh also represented Walton Athletic Club in Walton-on-Thames.Walton AC at the Commonwealth Games
/ref>

National titles

*AAA Championships: 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharaoh, Mark 1931 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from Manchester Sportspeople from Wandsworth British male discus throwers English male discus throwers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Alumni of the University of Manchester Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games