Brian Shenton (15 March 1927 – 9 May 1987) was a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprinter. He represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the men's

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 men's 4x100 metres relay at two consecutive Summer Olympics (1952 and 1956). Born in Doncaster from a working-class background, he was a member of the Doncaster Plant Works Athletic Club, later having a successful career in the City and reaching the position of Chairman of Noble Lowndes. He died in a car crash soon after retirement. Shenton came to public attention in 1950 with a series of good performances, culminating in a place at the European Championships as a replacement. Described as the "boy from nowhere", he set a new personal best in the semi-finals of 21.6s, in the finals beating off the challenge of

Étienne Bally Étienne Marcel Bally (17 April 1923 – 10 January 2018) was a French sprinter and a European champion over 100 metres. He was born in Vénissieux. Bally's first major competition was the 1946 European Championships held in Oslo, wh ...

. He won the gold medal at the

1950 European Athletics Championships The 4th European Athletics Championships were held from 23 August to 27 August 1950 in the Heysel Stadium of the Belgian capital Brussels. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Complete result ...

in Brussels, Belgium in the men's 200 metres in a time of 21.5s as part of the British team that first topped the medal table with a medal count that would not be matched for a further 40 years. 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 ...

he won the silver medal at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand, in the 4x110 yard relay and won an individual silver medal in the 220 yard dash at the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. He won the silver medal at the

1954 European Athletics Championships The 5th European Athletics Championships were held at Stadion Neufeld from 25–29 August 1954 in the Swiss capital Bern. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Medal summary Complete results were publ ...

Berne, Switzerland german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

in the men's 4x100 metres relay, alongside George Ellis, Kenneth Jones and Kenneth Box. 1950 European Athletics Championships Gold Medal for the 200m

1950 European Athletics Championships Gold Medal for the 200m

In 1957 Brian Shenton was timed as having set the English 100 yards native record in a time of 9.7 seconds. However, this was disallowed following a ruling that he had had a "flier". Shenton appealed and received a personal hearing at the AAA. Memorabilia from Brian Shenton's athletic career was included in an exhibition of Doncaster's local Olympians in celebration of the London 2012 Olympics.Olympic exhibition at Cusworth Hall Museum
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenton, Brian 1927 births 1987 deaths Sportspeople from Doncaster British male sprinters English male sprinters Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England