Sheila Carey

Sheila Carey

Miep van Beek and Sheila Carey (r.) (1970)
Born Sheila Janet Taylor
12 August 1946
Coventry, England
Occupation Athlete (Retired)
Teacher (Part Time)
Spouse(s) Peter Carey (1968–present)
Children Nicola (born 1976)
Sharon (born 1979)

Sheila Janet Carey MBE, née Taylor (born 12 August 1946, Coventry, England),[1] is a British athlete who represented the United Kingdom at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In Mexico City, she was fourth in the 800 metres final, while in Munich, she set a British record for the 1500 metres, finishing fifth. She represented England at the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1974. She was also part of the British 4 x 800 metres relay team that twice broke the world record in 1970.[2]

Career

At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, Carey (competing under her maiden name) placed fourth in the Women's 800 m Final, won by the United States' Madeline Manning.

In June 1970, in Edinburgh, the UK 4 x 800 m relay quartet of Rosemary Stirling, Carey, Pat Lowe and Lillian Board, 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 record breaking performances, Carey competed at the Commonwealth Games in July, held in Edinburgh. She finished eighth in the 800 m final, after falling.

Carey competed at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where she came in fifth in the Women's 1500m Final, setting a new British record of 4min 04.8sec. This time remained Carey's best and as of 2013, ranks her 19th on the UK all-time list. The race was won by the Soviet Union's Lyudmila Bragina and saw the first seven 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. She made her final appearance at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. There she was eliminated in her heat of the 800 m in 2:09.16.[3]

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 and other disabilities, near Coventry in 1987.[4] 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.[5] In 2012, she carried the Olympic torch through Warwick as part of the relay ahead of the London Olympic Games.[6] Her school also did a mini version of the Olympic Games.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to disability athletics.[5][7] In January 2013, Exhall Grange had a special assembly saying well done to her for this. She received her award in March, where she was accompanied by her husband, one of her daughters and one of the school's former members of staff.

Personal life

She married Peter (Pete) Carey in 1968. They have two daughters: Nicola; born in 1976, and Sharon; born in 1979. They also have three grandchildren.

References

  1. ↑ "Sheila Taylor-Carey Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.gbrathletics.com/bwr.html
  3. ↑ "Sheila Carey". Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "Plans laid, now we need the money!". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 15 March 1999. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Warwickshire honours: Sports stars among those awarded". BBC News (BBC). 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Relay arrives in Warwick". Leamington Observer. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60367. p. 15. 29 December 2012.

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