Peter Frank Radford (born 20 September 1939) is a former

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

athlete, who competed at

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(and 100 and 220 yards), broke

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 organization ...

, and won Olympic medals, despite having been seriously ill as a child due to a hole in his kidney.

Career

Running

Radford took up competitive running at the age of 12, soon joining

Birchfield Harriers Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England. As well as welcoming recreational runners they cater for all levels of experience up to and including Olympic athletes whether a ...

, where he was coached by Bill Marlow, and won the English Schools intermediate 100 yard title in 1955 and seniors 100 yards in 1957. He attended

Tettenhall College Tettenhall College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school located in the Wolverhampton suburb of Tettenhall in England. History The college was founded in 1863 by a group of prominent local businessmen and industrialists, most ...

. At the age of 18 at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in July 1958, he came fourth at 100 yards, was a semi-finalist in the 220 yards, and won a sprint relay gold medal with the England 4×110 yards relay team. In August of that year he competed in the European Championships where he won a Bronze medal in the 100 metres and a Silver medal as part of the British 4×100 metres relay team. In September of the same year he equalled the European record of 20.8 seconds for 200m in Paris. On 28 May 1960, he broke the

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 ...

for 220 yards with a time of 20.5 seconds, at the Staffordshire Championships in Wolverhampton. The time and record were also accepted for the 200 metre distance. He represented Great Britain in the 100 and 200 metres at 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 ...

held 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 ...

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 ...

, where he won the bronze medal at 100 metres. He then teamed up with fellow British athletes David Jones, David Segal and Nick Whitehead to finish third in the 4×100 metres relay. The USA finished first in that race but were disqualified for a baton exchange outside the permitted zone which then elevated Britain to third. Videos show that Radford's baton pass to David Jones at the first changeover was also outside the permitted zone so the Britons were fortunate not to be disqualified as well. Radford won a second British Empire and Commonwealth Games Gold medal in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in 1962 as a member of the England 4×110 yards relay team, and represented Britain as a quarter-finalist at both 100m and 200m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, albeit as a late selection. He was eliminated from the 100m in the second-round heats, but ran the first leg of the relay, which broke the UK record. Following Tokyo, he retired from competition, due to a recurring knee ligament problem. At that time, and for at least another two decades, he was the most successful sprinter in Birchfield Harriers' history.

Administrator and writer

For 12 years from 1965, he lived and worked in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the USA. He is a former Chairman of

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of 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 officials. The orga ...

and chairman (in 1993) and 'executive between chairman' (1994–97) of its predecessor, the British Athletics Federation. He was founder professor of the chair of the department of physical education and sports science at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, and is currently Professor of Sport at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June ...

. In the fall of 2018, Radford was in-residence as a short-term fellow at the

Folger Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...

's Folger Institute in Washington, DC, to study and present on "the corporeal and sporting early modern woman." Radford wrote a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of the 19th-century Scottish athlete

Robert Barclay Allardice Robert Barclay Allardice of Ury (25 August 1779, Stonehaven, Kincardineshire – 8 May 1854), generally known as Captain Barclay, was a notable Scottish walker of the early 19th century, known as the celebrated pedestrian. His most famous feat w ...

, entitled ''The celebrated Captain Barclay: sport, money and fame in Regency Britain'' and published in 2001. A photograph of him running against Italy, three months before the 1960 Olympics, is featured on the cover of the 2011/2012 BT

telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...

, ''The Phone Book'', for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

North,''The Phone Book'', Birmingham North, 2011/2012: BT which covers the home of Birchfield Harriers,

Perry Barr Stadium Perry Barr Stadium (also known as Perry Barr Greyhound Stadium and previously as Alexander Sports Ground(s)) is a stadium and a Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing track on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr, Birmingham, Engl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Peter 1939 births Living people Sportspeople from Walsall English male sprinters Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England European Athletics Championships medalists World record setters in athletics (track and field) Birchfield Harriers People educated at Tettenhall College Academics of the University of Glasgow Academics of Brunel University London English sportswriters Sports historians English male non-fiction writers Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games