Neville Joseph "Nick" Whitehead (29 May 1933 – 6 October 2002) was a

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 ...

sprinter.

Early life and career

Whitehead was born in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...

. He competed for Great Britain in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

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 ...

in the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individ ...

where he won the bronze medal with his teammates

Peter Radford Peter Frank Radford (born 20 September 1939) is a former British athlete, who competed at 100 and 200 metres (and 100 and 220 yards), broke world records, and won Olympic medals, despite having been seriously ill as a child due to a hole in hi ...

, David Jones and David Segal. He went on to win a

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

Bronze medal in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Western Australia in 1962 as part of the Welsh Relay Team.

Later work

He would later teach Physical Education at Carnegie Physical Training College in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

, now part of

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The unive ...

and eventually became Director of Development at the

Sports Council for Wales Sport Wales ( Welsh: ''Chwaraeon Cymru'') is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim t ...

(now Sport Wales). He was made an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the

1985 New Year Honours The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. He died, aged 69, in

Newport, Pembrokeshire Newport ( cy, Trefdraeth, meaning: "town by the beach") is a town, parish, community, electoral ward and ancient port of ''Parrog'', on the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales at the mouth of the River Nevern ( cy, Afon Nyfer) in the Pembrokesh ...

. He had a son Simon Whitehead and two daughters; Jane Roberts and Rachel Shiamh.

References

1933 births 2002 deaths Welsh male sprinters Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Wrexham Welsh Olympic medallists Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games {{Wales-athletics-bio-stub