Heather Armitage

Heather Joy Armitage (later Young, then McClelland; born 17 March 1933) is a retired British sprinter and British record holder for the 100 yards.[3]

Heather Armitage
Armitage (right) at the 1956 Olympics
Personal information
Born17 March 1933 (1933-03-17) (age 87)
Colombo, Ceylon
Height171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Sprint
ClubLongwood Harriers, Huddersfield
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 m – 11.6 (1956)
200 – 23.79y (1958)[1][2]
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
1956 Melbourne4×100 m relay
1952 Helsinki4×100 m relay
European Championships
1958 Stockholm100 m
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
1954 Vancouver4×110 yd relay
1958 Cardiff4×110 yd relay
1958 Cardiff100 yd
1958 Cardiff220 yd

Sporting career

Armitage won her first major title representing Yorkshire in the all England schools 100 yards in 1951 aged 18.[4] She competed in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics in the 100 m, 200 m and 4×100 m events and won two medals in the relay. Her best individual achievement was sixth place in the 100 m in 1956.[1] In 1958, she won three medals at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff[1] including as the anchor in the English 4 × 110 yards relay team alongside Madeleine Weston, June Paul and anchor Dorothy Hyman that won the gold medal and set a new world record of 45.37 seconds in the process.[5]

Later that year Armitage took 100 m gold at the 1958 European Championships in Athletics in Stockholm, thereby becoming the first British woman to win an individual European track title. As of August 2017, she still hold the official British Record for the 100 yards.[3]

Personal life

In the 1950s she married Frank Young, a fellow teacher, and competed as Heather Young. They later divorced, with Armitage marrying the former association football player John McClelland with whom she has a daughter, Alison.

Post athletic career

She retired from competitions in 1960 and devoted herself to teaching, mostly on religious topics.[6]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Heather Armitage". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. "Heather Young (née Armitage". trackfield.brinkster.net.
  3. http://www.gbrathletics.com/uk/wa99.htm
  4. "Heather Armitage - Penistone Grammar School's Olympic Medallist". www.pgs-archive.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  5. "UK Athletics". uka.org. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  6. Greensill, Martin (May 2007). "An early heroine in a golden age for British women's athletics". Track Stats. NUTS.


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