WENLOCK OLYMPIANS WHO WENT ON TO BECOME GB OLYMPIANS:
Ben was a member of the 4-man bobsleigh 2nd team in the Winter Olympics at Sochi in 2014, PyeongChang in 2018, and as reserve in Beijing in 2022. However, he began his athletic career at Wenlock Olympian Games where, from the age of eight, Ben competed in a range of track and field disciplines. These included 50m, 100m, high jump, triple jump, and the pentathlon between the years 1995 and 2005, winning a gold medal in 100m. His final Wenlock appearance was in 2009 in the 100m and three years later, his journey into the GB Olympic team began.
In 1981 Alison Williamson won a silver medal at Wenlock Olympian Games archery competition. 11 years later, Alison represented Great Britain for the first time at the Barcelona Olympics. She went on to win a bronze in Athens
in 2004 and so fulfilled Brookes’ dream of a Wenlock Olympian awarded a medal in a Greek Olympics. Alison represented Great Britain from 1992 to 2012, and when she competed at London 2012 she became only the third Briton to take part in six consecutive Olympics.
Harold Langley
At the 67th Wenlock Olympian Games in 1923 Harold Langley won the highly-prized pentathlon gold medal. Harold went on to represent Great Britain in the hop step and jump (now the triple jump) at the 1924 Paris Olympics alongside Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell – immortalised in the film ‘Chariots of Fire’. In 1948 Harold was a field judge at the London Olympics.
GB Olympian Visitors to the Games
WHO IS A GB OLYMPIAN?
A GB Olympian is any athlete who has competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games, and is automatically a member of the GB Olympians Association – a part of Team GB and a partner of WOS.
The GB Olympians Association provides its members with access to a network of former and current Olympians and is managed by a small committee of directors who volunteer their time to support its mission. Its mission is to celebrate the values of the Olympic Movement through its members. By promoting the benefits of their Olympic experiences to wider communities, GB Olympians aim to inspire a more active, successful, and fulfilled society. The British Olympic Association (BOA) Athletes’ Commission, for example, actively involves past and present athletes in the BOA’s initiatives.
WOS membership present and past lists a number of former Olympic competitors including:
WOS President
Jonathan Edwards CBE: TRIPLE JUMP Seoul 1988; Barcelona 1992; Atlanta 1996 (silver); Sydney 2000 (gold);
WOS Trustees
Stu Benson: 4-MAN BOBSLEIGH Sochi 1998 (bronze);
Dave Long: MARATHON Seoul 1988; Barcelona 1992.
Present and past WOS members:
Dr Donald Anthony MBE FIELD Melbourne 1956: Hammer throw
Baron Pierre de Coubertin ARTS Stockholm 1912: literature (gold)
Dr Eric Hall WALK Melbourne 1956: 50k, Rome 1960: 20k
Gaynor Stanley: SWIMMING Los Angeles 1984: 200m breaststroke, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley;
Diana Sutherland: SWIMMING Munich 1972: 220m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4×100 relay, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke;
WOS is delighted to have welcomed the following GB Olympians and GB Paralympians to Wenlock Olympian Games and Much Wenlock. The list is WORK IN PROGRESS:
GB Olympians
Chris Ballieu; ROWING Montreal 1976: double sculls (silver); Moscow 1980: double sculls;
Robbie Brightwell MBE: TRACK Tokyo 1964: 400m, 4x400m (silver);
Sylvia Cheeseman ATHLETICS London 1948: 200m: 1952 Helsinki 4x100m (bronze).
Shirley Crawley ATHLETICS Helsinki 1952: long jump (bronze).
Margaret Edwards SWIMMING Melbourne 1956: 100m backstroke (bronze).
Dr Elizabeth Ferris SWIMMING Rome 1960: diving (bronze).
Christine Godsen SWIMMING Melbourne 1956: 200m breaststroke; Rome 1960 200m breaststroke.
Tommy Godwin CYCLING London 1948: Individual Time (Trial bronze), Team Pursuit (bronze).
Judy Grinham SWIMMING Melbourne 1956: 100m backstroke (gold).
Julie Hoyle SWIMMING Melbourne 1956: 100m backstroke.
Tommy Nicholls BOXING Helsinki 1952: bantamweight; Melbourne 1956: featherweight (silver).
Dame Mary Haig DBE FENCING London 1948: foil; Helsinki 1952: foil; Melbourne 1956: foil; Rome
Sheila Hoskin LONG JUMP Melbourne 1956.
Anne Morton SWIMMING Melbourne 1956: 100m butterfly.
Ann Packer MBE TRACK Tokyo 1964: 400m (silver), 800m (gold).
June Foulds ATHLETICS Helsinki 1952: 4x100m relay (bronze); Melbourne 1956: 4x100m (silver).
Lord Sebastian Coe KBE TRACK Moscow 1980: 1500m (gold), 800m (silver);
Los Angeles 1984: 1500 (gold), 800m (silver)
HRH Princess Royal EQUESTRIAN Montreal 1976: 3-day event.
GB Paralympians
Debbie Brenhan: TRACK Athens 2004: 100m T34 (gold), 200m T34 (silver);
Chris Hendy: SWIMMING Sydney 2000: 50m freestyle S14, 100m breaststroke SB14, 200m medley SM14,
4x100m freestyle S14 (silver), 4x50m medley S14;
Sir Philip Craven TRACK Heidelberg 1972: 100m w/chair, slalom
SWIMMING Heidelberg 1972: 50m breaststroke cat.3;
BASKETBALL W/CHAIR Heidelberg 1972: Toronto 1976, Arnhem 1980,
Stoke Mandeville 1984; Seoul 1988