Lillian Board

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Medal record
Competitor for Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom
Women's athletics
Olympic Games
Silver Mexico City 1968 400 metres
European Championships
Gold Athens 1969 800 metres
Gold Athens 1969 4 x 400 m relay

Lillian Barbara Board MBE (December 13, 1948 – December 26, 1970) was an athlete from Great Britain, who 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 Athens, Greece.

One of the finest athletes of her generation, her career was cut short when she developed the bowel cancer in 1970 that rapidly killed her.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Lillian's parents George and Frances, along with son George Alfred, had emigrated from Manchester, England, to South Africa in April 1947, and Lillian was born in Durban on December 13, 1948. Growing homesick shortly after Lillian and her twin sister Irene were born, the family moved back to Manchester in February 1950.

In 1956, the family moved to Ealing, west London, where Lillian's father, George, found work with London Underground as a tunnel bricklayer. Now aged 7, Lillian and Irene started studying at Drayton Green school in Ealing.

[edit] Developing athletics career

In 1960, at the age of 11, Lillian and her sister moved to Grange Secondary Modern School, also in Ealing. It was here that Physical Education teacher Sue Gibson (a Middlesex county discus champion) spotted that Lillian, now aged 12, had a special talent for running. She took her to join London Olympiades, the leading all-female athletics club, which had a training base at Alperton, north-west London. Here she competed in relays and 100 and 150 yard sprints. The following year, she also started to compete in the Long Jump and in 1963, aged 14, she won the English Schools Championships with a jump of 17'3" (5.26 m).

Trained by her father George, she concentrated on the sprints from the 1964 season with an emphasis on strength work and with a view to eventually moving up from the short sprints to the 440 and 880 yards, where George felt sure her future lay. She made her debut over 220 yds and 880 yds in 1964, winning both events on her debut in times of 25.5 and 2.30.8, respectively.

In 1965, aged 16, Board was a member of the London Olympiades squad that won the 4 x 100 m relay at the Women's Amateur Athletics Association's national championships. Later that year, she showed her versatility with a career best leap of 5.80 m in the Long Jump and indoor wins over 60 yds and 300 yds.

Lillian didn't make her debut at the 440 yds until April 1966, when she finished a close 2nd in an inter-club meeting at Southall, London, in 58.1 seconds. She then ran 57.3 in the Southern Counties Championships, before taking 4th place in the WAAA's 440 yds final in a time of 54.6, the fastest ever recorded by a 17-year-old in Europe.

[edit] Success

Board's performances at 400 m in the 1966 season earned her a place in the England team for the Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica, that August. Here, after winning her 400 m heat, Lillian finished 5th in the Final in a time of 54.7 seconds, just outside her personal best. It was a very creditable effort for a 17-year-old. Disappointingly, she was not then chosen for the Great Britain team in the following month's European Championships in Budapest.

However, such disappointment was short-lived and Lillian firmly announced her arrival onto the international scene in July 1967 when, still aged only 18, she won the 400 metres race in a Commonwealth v USA match in Los Angeles, California. She came from last to first with a stunning late surge and won in a time of 52.8 seconds, the second fastest ever recorded by a European woman.

Further wins at 400 m followed over the next year and she went into the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City as favourite to win the gold medal at that distance. After winning her semi-final, she took an early lead in the final on October 16 and led by five metres coming into the home straight. She looked certain to win but was caught on the line by Colette Besson of France and beaten into second place by a mere 0.09 seconds. Setting a UK record of 52.1 had not quite been enough to win gold.

In 1969, Lillian moved up to the 800 metres and, after two good wins, was chosen for the British team at the European Championships in Athletics in Athens, Greece, that September. Still inexperienced at the longer event, she was not strongly fancied for 800 m gold but produced a superb performance in the final on September 18, winning easily in a personal best time of 2.01.4. She reamins the only British woman ever to have won this European title.

Just two days later, Lillian lined up for Great Britain in the 4 x 400 m relay. Running the last leg, she came from eight metres down on the final bend to beat her old rival Besson in a dramatic photo finish, not only winning gold for Britain but also helping to set a new world record of 3.30.82. Having claimed two gold medals, it was no surprise that she was named 'Best Woman Athlete in the Games'.

A further accolade came when she was awarded the Member of the British Empire in the 1970 New Year Honours' List. Known as the Golden Girl of British athletics for her blond good looks and medal success, Lillian had become a popular public figure, earning herself another nickname: 'Britain's favourite girl'.

[edit] Cancer and early death

Lillian was forced to stop running in June 1970 by persistent stomach pains and a few weeks later was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Seeking a cure, she went to a clinic near Munich, West Germany, in November 1970 to be treated by the controversial doctor, Josef Issels. She fought bravely against her illness, but her condition worsened and she died on December 26, 1970.

A memorial service was held for her at St Paul's Cathedral, London, on January 21, 1971, and she is commemorated in Munich by an avenue bearing her name that leads to the Olympic Stadium.

[edit] Honours and awards

[edit] Achievements

Year Tournament Venue Event Result Extra
1968 Summer Olympics Mexico City, Mexico 400 m 2nd UK record (52.12)
1969 European Championships Athens, Greece 800 metres 1st Career best (2.01.4)
1969 European Championships Athens, Greece 4 x 400 metres 1st World record (3.30.82)
  • Won six WAAA's Championships, including the 440 yds title, 1967.
  • Set 11 UK records, including a 400 m record of 52.12, 1968.
  • Won the 400 m at the European Cup final, 1967 (Britain's only winner in the final).
  • Helped set four relay world records (at 4 x 110 yds, 4 x 400 m (twice) and 4 x 800 m) between September 1968 and June 1970, running the anchor/last leg each time.

[edit] Personal bests

Event Mark Year
100 m 11.9 1969
200 m 23.4 1968
400 m 52.1 1968
800 m 2.01.4 1969
Mile 4.46.6 1970
Long Jump 5.80 m 1965

Notes

  • 1 mile (4:46.6). Only competed in this event twice (in 1970).
  • Long Jump (5.80 m). Did not compete in this event after 1967.

[edit] Trivia

  • In December 1969, she was the 'mystery runner' at the Nos Galan (New Year's Eve) festival, held annually in the South Wales village of Mountain Ash to commemorate the legendary Welsh runner, Guto Nyth Bran.
  • She was the only female panellist on the first edition of BBC TV's quiz show A Question of Sport, broadcast on January 5, 1970. The other panellists were footballers George Best and Tom Finney and cricketer Ray Illingworth. (The team captains were boxer Henry Cooper and rugby player Cliff Morgan, and the presenter was David Vine.) The recording of this historic edition of one of television's most popular and durable programmes (now in its 37th year) is missing from the BBC archives.

[edit] References

  • David Emery, (1971). Lillian, Hodder & Stoughton.
  • The Times, Olympic heroes article [1]
  • Athletics biography [2]
  • Photos and race details [3]
  • BBC 'On This Day' (December 26, 1970) [4]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] External Links

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