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MASTERS ATHLETICS SPRING 2014.
at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took an Honours
degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
At Oxford he became president of the University Athletic
Club. He represented Great Britain in the Olympic
Games in 1952 and 1956; he ran a memorable 5,000m
race against Emil Zatopek and was a pacemaker when
Roger Bannister ran the first four-minute mile in 1954.
Later the same year, Chataway reached the peak of his
running career with a victory over the Russian, Vladimir
Kuts, establishing what was then a world record over
5,000m
Chataway entered Parliament in 1959 as Conservative
member for North Lewisham. However, he lost his seat
at the 1966 general election, and returned to television
and journalism while establishing himself in local
government. In 1967 he became leader of the Greater
London Council's Inner London Education Committee.
As minister of posts and telecommunications in the new
Tory Government in 1970, Chataway became
responsible for the Post Office, he was also responsible
for introducing local commercial radio stations.
Breaking
the 5,000m
world
record in
1954
In June 1995, Chataway was given a knighthood in the
Queen's Birthday Honours, having served as chairman of the
Civil Aviation Authority.
Chataway had started running again in his 50s and at the
age of 73 he was persuaded by former long-distance runner
Brendan Foster to take part in the gruelling Great North Run,
a race he continued to run for several years.
Tom Wood.
(24-10-1925 –21-1-2014)
Tom’s earliest contact with Athletics came when he was
about nine years old in School sports and then a couple of
years later in an inter-town event in Newport, the town (now
City) where he spent most of his life. His father was a
flyweight boxer and two uncles were Welsh Walkers and
runners competing in the International Cross country
Championships, (now World Championships), in Caerleon.
Watching the latter sparked Tom’s lifelong involvement in the
sport. For the majority of that time he was a stalwart member
5
of Newport Harriers having started with their satellite, Pill
Harriers.
Tom went on to compete for the Army at various levels and
gained selection for Wales for the first time in 1946. In those
days Newport Harriers were a dominant force in endurance
events winning the Welsh senior men’s team cross country
title no fewer than fourteen times between 1949 and 1965
with Tom a member of the team on most if not all occasions.
As a consequence he represented Wales in the International
cross country championships on six occasions – a record
which ranks him in the top Welsh men of all time.
Somewhat surprisingly, he never won a Welsh senior title; a
partial explanation is that in those days there was only one
championship distance on the road - the Marathon,
compared with the proliferation now existing. 1952 was
probably his best year – following second place in the Welsh
Senior cross country he went on to be second on the track in
three miles, six miles and steeplechase. Tom repeated the
steeplechase success in the next two years; the final
occasion being over the now traditional distance of 3000
metres. According to his great friend, club mate and rival,
Ron Franklin, Tom used his natural agility and steeplechase
skills to advantage in home cross country events. In those
days Newport ran from Kimberley Park and the course
included a barbed wire fence. Whilst fellow competitors
laboriously clambered over the obstacle Tom apparently
developed a technique of hurdling but instead of resting his
foot on the top wire utilised a nearby tree pushing off
sideways from its trunk.
For the 1958 Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff a
Marathon course was devised starting and finishing in Cardiff
Arms Park. Selection of teams for the Principality was a trial
held over much of the course but starting and finishing at the
old Maindy stadium in Cardiff. As a consequence, it was
almost certainly over distance but that was only the start of
the problems. Tom finished third at the expense of a rival
who had unfortunately gone off course in the latter stages,
losing a place. However, all four were selected only for Tom
to be involved in car accident. Fortunately, he made a rapid
recovery but this undoubtedly adversely affected his
performance in the Games where he still finished a
creditable 18th. An iconic photograph from the time shows
Tom as one of the leaders out of the park closely followed by
eventual champion, Power of Australia. Other performances
of note were 1hour 51 minutes in the Inter Counties 20 mile
road championship in 1956; British veteran (O.50) records
for 1500m (4:31.2) and 5000m (16:18) in 1975 and fourth in
World Veterans Marathon in 1976 (2h 48 minutes).
On the administrative side of athletics his main activities
have been with Cross country and Masters (veterans). As
well as being Welsh Cross Country Association Treasurer for
a period he was greatly involved with organising the
International Cross country on the several occasions when
Wales were hosts in the middle of the twentieth century. This
included one occasion when he was the International
President. However, in a small country like Wales, this was
no honorary sinecure and still involved manual and physical
tasks helping set up the course and other facilities. For
Chepstow in 1976, now entitled World championships and
probably the last occasion Wales will ever host the event, the
local Racecourse was used. Since this was not considered
sufficiently arduous Tom and others dug a water jump, by
hand, out on the course only to have the international
scrutineers take an opposite view and rule the out the
obstacle.!
His service to our sport was recognised by a Meritorious
Award plaque from the Welsh AAA, as it then was, in 1967.
At this time he was also President of the (still separate)
Welsh Cross country Association. With the development of