Chris Chataway

[bambam]

From a tweet I got: BBC Sport ?@BBCSport 12m - Former British athlete and 5,000m world record holder Sir Chris Chataway dies at the age of 82

Talk amongst yourselves.

[deanouk]

Re: Chris Chataway

Very sad news. He was certainly one of Britain's greatest ever athletes and excelled in various careers throughout his life.
RIP.

[Master Po]

Re: Chris Chataway

RIP. Contributed a lot in a variety of ways. I'm assuming that some of you who post here probably knew him, at least to some extent. Condolences to all.

[Bob Duncan]

Re: Chris Chataway

I was impressed that he did a 1:38 half marathon at age 75.

[aaronk]

Re: Chris Chataway

HE was the reason Roger Bannister became a household name!!

R.I. P.

[tandfman]

Re: Chris Chataway

HE was the reason Roger Bannister became a household name!!(

Yes, Chataway and Chris Brasher served as pacemakers in Bannister's historic 1st sub-4 mile.

Here's the conclusion of the NY Times obituary:

Chataway, Bannister and Brasher remained close until Brasher died in 2003. In 2004, at age 73, Chataway ran a 10-kilometer race in 49:08. The race was the Chris Brasher Memorial. The starter was Bannister.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/sport ... at-82.html

[26mi235]

RIP Chris Chataway

On the NY Times Front Page

Chris Chataway, the British runner who helped Roger Bannister achieve the first sub-four-minute mile then broke world records himself and became a member of Parliament and a Cabinet minister, died on Sunday in London. He was 82.

He had been fighting cancer for two years, his son Mark told The Associated Press.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/sports/chris-chataway-british-runner-and-politician-dies-at-82.html?hp

[Pego]

Re: RIP Chris Chataway

None of the 5 warriors of '52 Helsinki 5000 are alive anymore.

[Per Andersen]

Re: RIP Chris Chataway

None of the 5 warriors of '52 Helsinki 5000 are alive anymore.

Yes, all gone. I think in this order - Pirie, Schade, Zatopek, Mimoun and now Chataway. That race is my top memory from listening on the radio during those Olympics. First Summer Olympics I really paid attention to. Chataway was so young, just 21. His greatest race - the victory over Kuts with new WR, 13.51 in the London-Moscow match in the fall of '54. That was soon after he was second to Kuts at the European Games, beating Zatopek for second place. He was one of the greats then.

[jeremyp]

Re: Chris Chataway

I missed out on seeing his win against Kuts (My coach took the older athletes) but watched in on TV. Every morning on BBC they played the sub 4 minute mile race, as a sort of filler, In the 50's there was precious little morning TV, and I timed it with my precious stop watch, so the 2 Chris's were burned into my brain. Brasher was the only Olympic gold medallist.

[ridge004]

Re: Chris Chataway

I don't have any cigarettes handy, but I hope everyone will join me in raising a glass to the lad. An amazing set of accomplishments.

[runforlife]

Re: Chris Chataway

HE was the reason Roger Bannister became a household name!!

R.I. P.

Yes, but just from memory I believe he was the 4th man under 4 min.

[KDFINE]

Re: Chris Chataway

In the realm of real trivia, Chataway was born on January 31, 1931, as was Ernie Banks. Other January 31st birthdays in the world of sports belong to Jackie Robinson, Nolan Ryan, and Jeremy Wariner.