John Whetton (born 6 September 1941)[1] is a retired British middle-distance runner. He is best noted for winning gold in the 1500 metres at the 1969 European Athletics Championships and reaching the 1500 metre final in both the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics.[2]
Whetton ran amateur athletics for local club Sutton-in-Ashfield Harriers.[3] One of Whetton's first titles was the gold in 1500 metres at the 1963 Summer Universiade held at Porto Alegre, Brazil. In 1964 Whetton qualified to represent Great Britain at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and was one of three British competitors who ran the 1500 metres; the other two being William McKim and fellow Harriers club-mate Alan Simpson.[4] Whetton qualified through the first heat, coming third with a time of 3:44.2. He and Simpson both qualified to the semi-finals and then the finals, with Whetton taking the final slot as the fastest non-qualifying athlete. In the final Whetton finished eighth out of nine, recording a time of 3:42.4, while Simpson ended fourth.
In 1966 Whetton participated in the European Indoor Games taking his first major gold medal when he won the race by nearly three seconds over second placed Oleg Rayko. Whetton managed to retain the European Indoor title over the next two years, at Prague and Madrid. Whetton again represented Great Britain in the altitude influenced 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and again qualified for the final. In the final Whetton finished fifth, though a full four seconds outside the medal places.[1] His final major medal came in the 1969 European Athletics Championships when he won the 1500 metres in Athens. In a close final Whetton beat Ireland's Francis Murphy to take the gold.
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
^"Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
External links
British Pathe footage of an indoor meet including John Whetton on YouTube
January 06, 2023
john, whetton, confused, with, john, wetton, born, september, 1941, retired, british, middle, distance, runner, best, noted, winning, gold, 1500, metres, 1969, european, athletics, championships, reaching, 1500, metre, final, both, 1964, 1968, summer, olympics. Not to be confused with John Wetton John Whetton born 6 September 1941 1 is a retired British middle distance runner He is best noted for winning gold in the 1500 metres at the 1969 European Athletics Championships and reaching the 1500 metre final in both the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics 2 John WhettonWhetton at the 1964 OlympicsPersonal informationBorn6 September 1941 1941 09 06 age 81 Mansfield Nottinghamshire EnglandHeight1 79 m 5 ft 10 in Weight68 kg 150 lb SportSportAthleticsEvent s 1500 mClubSutton in Ashfield HarriersAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 1500 m 3 39 45 1969 Medal record Men s athleticsRepresenting Great BritainEuropean Championships1969 Athens 1500 mEuropean Indoor Championships1966 Dortmund 1500 m1967 Prague 1500 m1968 Madrid 1500 mAthletics career EditWhetton ran amateur athletics for local club Sutton in Ashfield Harriers 3 One of Whetton s first titles was the gold in 1500 metres at the 1963 Summer Universiade held at Porto Alegre Brazil In 1964 Whetton qualified to represent Great Britain at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and was one of three British competitors who ran the 1500 metres the other two being William McKim and fellow Harriers club mate Alan Simpson 4 Whetton qualified through the first heat coming third with a time of 3 44 2 He and Simpson both qualified to the semi finals and then the finals with Whetton taking the final slot as the fastest non qualifying athlete In the final Whetton finished eighth out of nine recording a time of 3 42 4 while Simpson ended fourth In 1966 Whetton participated in the European Indoor Games taking his first major gold medal when he won the race by nearly three seconds over second placed Oleg Rayko Whetton managed to retain the European Indoor title over the next two years at Prague and Madrid Whetton again represented Great Britain in the altitude influenced 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and again qualified for the final In the final Whetton finished fifth though a full four seconds outside the medal places 1 His final major medal came in the 1969 European Athletics Championships when he won the 1500 metres in Athens In a close final Whetton beat Ireland s Francis Murphy to take the gold He represented England in the 1 500 metres at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh Scotland 5 6 7 References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Whetton a b John Whetton Athletics heroes net Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al John Whetton Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 18 April 2020 John Whetton at Power of 10 Alan Simpson profile Rotherham Harriers org 1970 Athletes Team England Edinburgh 1970 Team Team England Athletes and results Commonwealth Games Federation External links EditBritish Pathe footage of an indoor meet including John Whetton on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Whetton amp oldid 1001717379, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,