Chris Brasher: Difference between revisions
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{{Medal|Sport|Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]]}} | {{Medal|Sport|Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]]}} | ||
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{{Medal|Competition|[[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}} | |||
{{Medal|Gold| [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase|3000 m steeplechase]]}} | {{Medal|Gold| [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase|3000 m steeplechase]]}} | ||
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'''Christopher William Brasher''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British [[track and field]] athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the [[London Marathon]].<ref>{{cite news| url= | '''Christopher William Brasher''' [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British [[track and field]] athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the [[London Marathon]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/mar/01/london| title=Athletics world mourns the man behind the London marathon| author=John Ezard| work=Guardian Unlimited| date=1 March 2003|access-date=22 April 2007}}</ref> | ||
==Early life and education== | ==Early life and education== | ||
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Brasher was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1996. He was awarded the [[Royal Scottish Geographical Society]]'s Livingstone Medal in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |title=RSGS - Royal Scottish Geographical Society |accessdate=29 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212031439/http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |archivedate=12 February 2010 }}</ref> | Brasher was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]] in 1996. He was awarded the [[Royal Scottish Geographical Society]]'s Livingstone Medal in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |title=RSGS - Royal Scottish Geographical Society |accessdate=29 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212031439/http://www.rsgs.org/awardsandmedals/ |archivedate=12 February 2010 }}</ref> | ||
In 2003, he died at his home in [[Chaddleworth]], Berkshire, after struggling for several months against [[pancreatic cancer]].<ref>{{cite news| url= | In 2003, he died at his home in [[Chaddleworth]], Berkshire, after struggling for several months against [[pancreatic cancer]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/2807839.stm| title=Marathon founder Brasher dies| author=BBC Sport| date=28 February 2003|access-date=22 April 2007| work=BBC News}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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[[Category:British Guiana people]] | [[Category:British Guiana people]] | ||
[[Category:Guyanese people of British descent]] | [[Category:Guyanese people of British descent]] | ||
[[Category:English | [[Category:English men middle-distance runners]] | ||
[[Category:British | [[Category:British men middle-distance runners]] | ||
[[Category:British | [[Category:British men steeplechase runners]] | ||
[[Category:English | [[Category:English men steeplechase runners]] | ||
[[Category:British newspaper editors]] | [[Category:British newspaper editors]] | ||
[[Category:British sportswriters]] | [[Category:British sportswriters]] | ||
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[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]] | [[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]] | ||
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]] | [[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]] | ||
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics | [[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]] | ||
[[Category:Pacemakers]] | [[Category:Pacemakers]] | ||
[[Category:Burials at St Peter's, Petersham]] | [[Category:Burials at St Peter's, Petersham]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]] | [[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]] | ||
[[Category:People educated at Rugby School]] | |||
Latest revision as of 10:26, 31 October 2025
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Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.[1]
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went to Rugby School and then St John's College, Cambridge, where he read geology. He was a keen mountaineer, and as a student was president of the Cambridge University Mountaineering Club, and in 1948 led an expedition to Baffin Island with W. A. Deer.[2]
Sporting career
On 6 May 1954, he acted as pacemaker for Roger Bannister when the latter ran the first sub-four-minute mile at Iffley Road Stadium in Oxford. Brasher paced Bannister for the first two laps, while his friend Chris Chataway paced the third. Two years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Brasher finished first in the 3,000 metres steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes 41.2 seconds, but was disqualified for allegedly interfering with another runner, Ernst Larsen of Norway. The following day, after an investigation, he was reinstated as gold medallist.[3] Brasher had been celebrating for several hours before the delayed medal ceremony, and later claimed to have been “the only Olympic champion to be totally and absolutely slaughtered when he received a medal”.[4]
Brasher was on the podium three times at the AAA Championships in the steeplechase event at the 1952 AAA Championships,[5]1955 AAA Championships and the 1956 AAA Championships.[6][7]
He was one of the pioneers of orienteering in Britain and can claim the first public mention of the sport in an article in The Observer in 1957:
- "I have just taken part, for the first time, in one of the best sports in the world. It is hard to know what to call it. The Norwegians call it 'orientation'..."[8]
Later career
He had careers in print journalism, as sports editor for The Observer newspaper, and in broadcasting, as a reporter for the Tonight programme.
He founded Chris Brasher's Sporting Emporium in 1971; this later became Sweatshop.[9] In 1978, he designed the Brasher Boot: a walking boot with the comfort of a running shoe. They were merged with Berghaus under Pentland ownership in 2014, and were discontinued before 2017.[10]
In 1981 John Disley and Brasher founded the London Marathon.[11] In 1983 he became the second president of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, an office which he held until 1987.[12]
Also in 1983 Brasher partnered with his longtime friend John Disley to found Fleetfoot Limited in Lancaster. Fleetfoot distributed The Brasher Boot and other sporting goods to retailers. Fleetfoot acquired the rights to be the UK distributor of Reebok and subsequently traded as Reebok UK before becoming a subsidiary of the Pentland Group in 1988.[13]
After the acquisition by Pentland, Brasher remained active in the company as chairman of the board. Reebok UK was sold to Reebok International in 1990 when Pentland Group sold its 55% ownership of Reebok United States and Reebok International.
Personal life and honours
Brasher married the English tennis champion Shirley Bloomer in 1959.[14]
Brasher was awarded the CBE in 1996. He was awarded the Royal Scottish Geographical Society's Livingstone Medal in 2002.[15]
In 2003, he died at his home in Chaddleworth, Berkshire, after struggling for several months against pancreatic cancer.[16]
References
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- ↑ Bryant, John (2012). "Chris Brasher, The Man Who Made The London Marathon". London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 104.
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- ↑ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): 3000-Meter Steeplechase". London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 170.
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1928 births
- 2003 deaths
- Athletes from Georgetown, Guyana
- People from Chaddleworth
- British Guiana people
- Guyanese people of British descent
- English men middle-distance runners
- British men middle-distance runners
- British men steeplechase runners
- English men steeplechase runners
- British newspaper editors
- British sportswriters
- English male journalists
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- English Olympic competitors
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games competitors for England
- Orienteering in the United Kingdom
- Orienteering innovators
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
- Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists in athletics
- Pacemakers
- Burials at St Peter's, Petersham
- 20th-century English sportsmen
- People educated at Rugby School