That is an uncommon piece for Stuart Weir. Stuart Weir wrote this piece on Ann Packer, one of many first athletes he watched take Olympic gold, and an early favourite in athletics.
Ann Packer
One of many first races I bear in mind watching on TV was the 1964 Olympic ladies’s 800m race which was received by Ann Packer. She received the race however would possibly properly not have been in it. She was chosen for each the 400 and the 800 and took silver within the 400 behind Betty Cuthbert of Australia, setting a brand new European file of 52.20. Her fiancé, Robbie Brightwell, anticipated to get a medal got here fourth within the males’s 400.
Ann was contemplating skipping the 800 – a distance at which she was very inexperienced – to buy groceries in Tokyo however was persuaded to run. Coming fifth in her prelim and third within the semi, she made the ultimate because the second-slowest qualifier. Within the closing, she was sixth on the bell. Then she produced a blistering run spherical the ultimate bend to win the race. BBC commentator Dave Coleman’s description of the top of the race went one thing like this: “Right here comes Ann Packer. She’s bought a variety of operating to do…my goodness, she’s doing it!” as she took the lead and completed first.
A flexible athlete who reached the finals within the 200 meters on the European Championships and within the 80 meters hurdles on the Commonwealth Video games and received medals at each occasions in dash relays earlier than breaking the world 800m file in that Olympic closing
Packer commented on her win: “Center-distance operating for ladies was nonetheless in its infancy, and the 800 m had solely been run in Rome 4 years earlier for the primary time. I knew nothing in regards to the occasion however being so naive was most likely to my benefit; it meant I didn’t have any limitations in my head concerning what I ought to or might do. Ignorance proved to be bliss.” (supply Wikipedia). After successful the gold medal, she introduced her retirement on the age of twenty-two and so had one of many shortest athletics careers of any Olympic gold medallist.
She and her husband had two sons who each performed skilled soccer.
When Ann was presenting medals on the GB Champs final summer time, I needed to break my rules and have a photograph.
