Chris Brasher

Christopher William "Chris" Brasher
Born	21 August 1928(1928-08-21) Georgetown, Guyana
Died	28 February 2003(2003-02-28) (aged 74) Chaddleworth, Berkshire, England
Occupation	athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon

Olympic medal record
Men's athletics
Competitor for  Great Britain
Gold	1956 Melbourne	3000 m steeplechase

Christopher William "Chris" Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.^[1]

History

Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Brasher was a student of the Duke of York's Royal Military School and later a graduate of St John's College, Cambridge.

In 1954, he acted as pacemaker for Roger Bannister when the latter ran the first sub-four-minute mile at the Iffley Road Stadium in Oxford. Brasher paced Bannister for the first two laps, while his friend Chris Chataway paced the third. Two years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, Brasher finished first in the 3,000 metres steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes 41.2 seconds, but was disqualified for allegedly interfering with another runner, Ernst Larsen of Norway. The following day, after an investigation, he was reinstated as gold medallist.^[2]

He was one of the pioneers of orienteering in Britain and can claim the first public mention of the sport in an article in The Observer in 1957.

I have just taken part, for the first time, in one of the best sports in the world. It is hard to know what to call it. The Norwegians call it 'orientation'...^[3]

He had distinguished careers in journalism as sports editor for The Observer newspaper and in broadcasting, as a reporter for the Tonight programme.

In 1971 he founded "Chris Brasher's Sporting Emporium" which later became "Sweatshop".^[4] In 1978 he designed the innovative Brasher Boot — a walking boot with the comfort of a running shoe.^[5] Three years later, he founded the London Marathon.^[6] In 1983 he became the second president of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, an office which he held until 1987.^[7]

He was married to tennis champion Shirley Brasher née Bloomer.

Brasher was awarded the CBE in 1996.

In 2003, he died at his home in Chaddleworth, Berkshire, after an illness lasting several months.^[8]

References

1. ^ John Ezard (2003-03-01). "Athletics world mourns the man behind the London marathon". Guardian Unlimited. http://sport.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,10488,905308,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
2. ^ David Walsh (2000). "Great British Olympians:Chris Brasher". The Sunday Times. http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/historyheroes/stgbo08.html. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
3. ^ "History of British Orienteering". http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/asp/makepage.asp?PID=HISTORY. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
4. ^ Sweatshop. "Sweatshop - About Us". http://www.sweatshop.co.uk/aboutus.cfm. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 
5. ^ Brasher Boot Co. "About Us". Archived from the original on 2007-04-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20070404152113/http://brasher.co.uk/classic/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.view&CategoryID=23. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 
6. ^ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): 3000-Meter Steeplechase". London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 170.
7. ^ "AIMS Executives". Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. http://aimsworldrunning.org/contact.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
8. ^ BBC Sport (2003-02-28). "Marathon founder Brasher dies". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/2807839.stm. Retrieved 2007-04-22. 

Persondata
Name	Brasher, Chris
Alternative names
Short description	London marathon co-founder
Date of birth	1928-08-21
Place of birth	Georgetown, Guyana
Date of death	2003-02-28
Place of death	Chaddleworth, Berkshire, England