Sheila Janet Carey

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, (née Taylor; born 12 August 1946) is a retired British middle-distance runner who represented the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. In 1968, she placed fourth in the 800 metres, while in 1972, she finishing fifth in the 1500 metres, setting a new British record. 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 ...

at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in 1970 and 1974. She was also part of the British 4×800 metres relay team that twice broke the world record in 1970.

Career

At the 1968 Olympics in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Carey (competing under her maiden name) placed fourth in the 800 m. In June 1970, in Edinburgh, the UK 4 × 800 m relay quartet of Rosemary Stirling, Carey,

Pat Lowe Patricia Barbara Lowe-Cropper (born 15 September 1943) is a British middle-distance running, middle-distance runner. She competed in the 800 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1972 Summer Olympics. She was appointed MBE in the 1974 Birt ...

and

Lillian Board Lillian Barbara Board, (13 December 1948 – 26 December 1970) was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in ...

, broke the world record with 8:27.0. Then in September at the Crystal Palace, London, the quartet of Stirling, Georgena Craig, Lowe and Carey, improved the record to 8:25.0. In between these performances, Carey competed at the Commonwealth Games in July, held 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 ...

. She finished eighth in the 800 m final, after a fall. Carey competed at the 1972 Olympics in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, where she came in fifth in the 1500 m, setting a new British record at 4:04.8. This time remained Carey's best and as of 2013, ranked 19th on the UK all-time list. The race was won by Lyudmila Bragina and saw more than five runners beating the pre-Games world record. Carey continued to represent the UK at international level through 1973 and 1974. She ran her lifetime best for the mile, with 4:37.16 at the Crystal Palace in September 1973, where she finished second behind

Joan Allison Joan Florence Page-Allison OBE (born 10 June 1947) is a retired British international middle-distance runner. Athletics career She competed in the women's 800 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics. She represented England and won a silver medal ...

. She made her final appearance at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. There she was eliminated in her heat of the 800 m in 2:09.16. After retiring from international athletics Carey later went on to teach in the United Kingdom, working for many years at Exhall Grange School, a school for children with

sight loss Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

and other disabilities, near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in 1987. She has been part-time at the school since 2006. Carey runs the U2 Track and Field Club and organises competitions for the sports charity

British Blind Sport British Blind Sport (BBS) is a British charity that makes sport and recreational activities accessible to people who are visually impaired. The charity enables blind and partially sighted people to experience the same sporting opportunities as s ...

. In 2012, she carried the Olympic torch through

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

as part of the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

ahead of the London Olympic Games. Her school also did a mini version of the Olympic Games. She was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hon ...

for services to disability athletics. In January 2013, Exhall Grange had a special assembly congratulating her for this. She received her award in March, where she was accompanied by her husband, one of her two daughters and one of the school's former members of staff. They also have four grandchildren.

References

External links

Sheila Carey
at sporting-heroes.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Sheila 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Coventry English female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games World record setters in athletics (track and field) Members of the Order of the British Empire