Sheila Sherwood (born Sheila Hilary Parkin, 22 October 1945 in
Parson Cross
Firth Park ward—which includes the districts of Firth Park, Longley, Parson Cross and parts of Wincobank—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England located in the northern part of the city and covering an area ...
,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, West Riding of Yorkshire, England) is a former international
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
er whose career highlights included a silver medal at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in Mexico, and a gold medal at the
1970 British Commonwealth Games
The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970.
This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...
in Edinburgh. She competed in three consecutive
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
(1964, 1968 and 1972) and had a career best distance of 6.73 metres.
Early life
As a child, her parents were caretaker and head cook at
St Thomas More School in nearby
Grenoside
Grenoside is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the West Ecclesfield ward of the city.
History
The name Grenoside is derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The name Grenoside, which was first ...
.
Sherwood attended Yew Lane Secondary Modern, where at the age of fifteen she was appointed as Head-Girl. After a successful set of O-Level results, she transferred to nearby
Ecclesfield Grammar School to study for her A-Levels.
Athletics career
She first came to prominence as an athlete as a 16-year-old as a member of the Sheffield-based
Sheffield United Harriers athletic club. Competing under her maiden name of Sheila Parkin, she created an English Schools long jump record in the summer of 1962. On the strength of this she was selected to represent Great Britain against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in August 1962 where she finished second behind former world record holder Elzbieta Krzensinska by just 2 cm. This performance started her long and distinguished career as an international long jumper, as it resulted in selection for the 1962
European championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
in Belgrade, where she finished 12th, and then representing
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 ...
in the long jump at the
1962 Commonwealth Games
The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...
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 is ...
, where she achieved 5th position.
Sherwood's early career saw only a slight improvement in her jumping, and she was eclipsed by fellow British jumper
Mary Rand
Mary Denise Rand, MBE (née Bignal on 10 February 1940) is an English former track and field athlete. She won the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics by breaking the world record, the first British female to win an Olympic gold medal in track ...
on many occasions. Rand took the gold medal at the
1964 Tokyo Olympic Games where Sherwood only finished 13th. However, it was in Tokyo that Sheila met British hurdler
John Sherwood and a romance began that was to result in marriage three years later. Sheila's relationship with John coincided with a marked improvement in her jumping performances. She took the silver medal at the
1966 Commonwealth Games in
Kingston, Jamaica behind Rand and at the 1968 Olympic Games in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
she took the silver medal behind the Romanian
Viorica Viscopoleanu with a personal best leap of 6.68 metres.
Sherwood took the gold medal 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 ...
with a career best jump of 6.73 metres and finished fourth at the
1971 European Championships in Helsinki. However, in her latter years in the sport she was hindered by back problems. Despite this she was selected for the
1972 Olympic Games in Munich where she finished a commendable ninth. Her career as an international long jumper came to a conclusion 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 ...
in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
where she took seventh place.
Retirement and personal life
In the mid-1970s Sherwood and her husband helped form the breakaway Sheffield Athletic Club, which then amalgamated with
Sheffield United Harriers to form Sheffield City Athletic Club. The club later changed its name to the City of Sheffield Athletic Club.
Sherwood is the mother of British international tennis player
David Sherwood
David Sherwood is a British tennis coach and retired tennis player. In his only live Davis Cup match, Sherwood played doubles with Andy Murray beating the Israeli World No 4 doubles team of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram,
Early and personal life ...
who was born in 1980. After retiring from athletics she continued to work as a physical education teacher at Myers Grove Comprehensive School in Sheffield.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood, Sheila
1945 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Sheffield
British female long jumpers
English female long jumpers
Olympic athletes of Great Britain
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
English Olympic medallists
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
People educated at Ecclesfield Grammar School
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade gold medalists for Great Britain
Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade
Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games