Geoff Elliott
Geoffrey ("Geoff") Michael Elliott (born 7 April 1931 in Ilford) is a retired male pole vaulter, shot putter and decathlete from England.
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| Born | 7 April 1931 Ilford | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Athletics career
He represented Great Britain in both the pole vault and decathlon events at the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki. He set his personal best in the pole vault (4.30 metres) on 28 August 1954 in Bern.
He represented England and won a gold medal in the pole vault at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada.[1] Four years later, in Cardiff he repeated the success at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[2][3] Just before those games, he was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'.[4]
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | European Championships | Bern, Switzerland | 3rd | Pole vault |
| British Empire and Commonwealth Games | Vancouver, Canada | 1st | Pole vault | |
| 8th | Shot put | |||
| 1958 | British Empire and Commonwealth Games | Cardiff, Wales | 1st | Pole vault |
References
- "1954 Athletes". Team England.
- "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
- "1958 Athletes". Team England.
- Brown and Hogsbjerg, Apartheid is not a game, 16
- Brown, Geoff and Hogsbjerg, Christian. Apartheid is not a Game: Remembering the Stop the Seventy Tour campaign. London: Redwords, 2020. ISBN 9781912926589.
- British Olympic Committee
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Geoff Elliott". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26.
He also played rugby football at school, Wanstead County Grammar, as a fly half (No 10 these days) and as a 17 or 18 year old schoolboy performed at full-back for the men's Eastern Counties side with distinction. Many believe that had he not chosen athletics he could well have had a future in the England 15.