Rita Ridley (née Lincoln; 4 November 1946 – 12 February 2013) was an English middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

Biography

She started in athletics at school in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

with her twin sister Iris. Aged 18, she finished second to

Joyce Smith Joyce Esther Smith (née Byatt, born 26 October 1937) is a British former long-distance runner. She broke the world record in the 3000 metres in 1971 and is a three-time medallist at the International/World Cross Country Championships, inclu ...

in the mile race at the WAAA Championships. She won the following year in a championship record time of 4:47.9, retained the national mile title in 1967 and won the newly introduced

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

in 1968, 1970 and 1971. She won the national cross country championships in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974. In 1974 she also won the prestigious

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ' ...

Cross country and gained a bronze medal in the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

. In 1969, she achieved a British record time of 4:15.9 in the 1500 m and she set a new record of 4:15.4 in 1970 and then 4:14.3 and 4:12.65 in 1971. In December 1968 she was the first British woman to break 10 minutes in the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

with a time of 9:59.6. She represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in the 1,500 metres at the 1970 Commonwealth Games 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 ...

. In a fiercely contested race, New Zealand's

Sylvia Potts Sylvia Mildred Potts (née Oxenham, 19 September 1943 – 31 August 1999) was a New Zealand middle-distance athlete who represented her country at two Commonwealth and one Olympic Games. She memorably fell two metres from the finish of the 15 ...

tripped and fell just one metre from the finish line, with Ridley avoiding the falling athlete on her outside, to take the title. Rita trained as a PE teacher at All Saints College in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

and gained a BEd with Hons from London University at All in 1980.

Death

Ridley died of cancer at the age of 66 in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Rita 1946 births 2013 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Sportspeople from Essex English female long-distance runners British female long-distance runners English female middle-distance runners British female middle-distance runners Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Deaths from cancer in England Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games