Mark Weston (born Mary Louise Edith Weston, 30 March 1905 – 29 January 1978), nicknamed "the Devonshire Wonder", was one of the best British field athletes of the 1920s. He was a national champion in the women's

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 ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

in 1929 and won the women's

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 ...

title in 1925, 1928 and 1929. At the

1926 Women's World Games The 1926 Women's World Games (Swedish II. Internationella kvinnliga idrottsspelen, French 2èmes jeux féminins mondiaux ) were the second regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between 27

he finished sixth in the two-handed shot put, where the final result was a sum of two best throws with the right hand and with the left hand. Weston was born with atypical genitals due to a disorder of sex development (DSD), was

assigned female at birth Sex assignment (sometimes known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex at or before birth. A relative, midwife, nurse or physician inspects the external genitalia when the baby is delivered and, in more than 99.95% of bi ...

and raised as a girl. In April and May 1936, Weston underwent a series of corrective surgeries at the

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

. After surgery, Weston changed his first name to Mark, retired from competitions, and later worked as a

masseur Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

. In July 1936, Weston married Alberta Matilda Bray, and they had three children. Following his example, his elder sibling Harry (previously known as Hilda) also changed his gender presentation and name in the 1930s. Harry died by suicide by hanging while suffering from depression in 1942. Weston died in the

Freedom Fields Hospital Freedom Fields Hospital was an acute hospital in Plymouth that closed in 1998. The site formerly occupied by the hospital has now been largely redeveloped for residential use. History The facility was designed by Arthur and Dwelly as a workhouse ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1978.

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Mark 1905 births British female shot putters British female discus throwers British female javelin throwers LGBT track and field athletes Sex verification in sports 1978 deaths Intersex sportspeople Intersex men LGBT sportspeople from England 20th-century LGBT people