Sheila Lerwill
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women’s Athletics | ||
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1952 Helsinki | High jump |
Sheila W. Lerwill (born 16 August 1928) is a British athlete who competed mainly in the high jump.
Early life[edit]
She was born Sheila Alexander in London, originating from Streatham.
She played netball for England and Surrey.[1] She lived on Glenister Park Road.[2]
Career[edit]
In 1950 she was trained by George Pallett.[3]
She took the British record on 5 August 1950 at 5ft 6.5.[4]
Lerwill broke the world record for women's high jump on 7 July 1951 in London with a jump of 1.72 metres, beating the previous record of 1.71 metres set by Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands on 30 May 1943 in Amsterdam.
The record was broken on 22 May 1954 by Aleksandra Chudina of the USSR in Kiev with a jump of 1.73 metres.[5] She competed for Great Britain in the high jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics, held in Helsinki, Finland, where she won the silver medal with a jump of 1.65 metres. It was Britain's best athletics medal at the games.
Personal life[edit]
She married Michael H. M. Lerwill, from Westerham, on Saturday 31 March 1951 at Holy Redeemer Church[6][7] in Wandsworth in 1951.[8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ Birmingham Daily Post Saturday 2 June 1951, page 6
- ^ Norwood News Friday 1 September 1950, page 5
- ^ Manchester Evening News Thursday 7 December 1950, page 4
- ^ Daily Mirror Thursday 8 February 1951, page 10
- ^ "World Records for High Jump (Women)". World Records. Cleave Books. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
- ^ Streatham News Friday 6 April 1951, page 3
- ^ South Wales Echo Saturday 19 August 1950, page 4
- ^ "Marriage registration". FreeBMD. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Women's Titles". The Observer. 8 July 1951. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
External links[edit]
European Athletics Championships champions in women's high jump | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
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- 1928 births
- Living people
- British female high jumpers
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- European Athletics Championships medalists
- Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Commonwealth Games competitors for England
- People from Streatham
- Sportspeople from the London Borough of Lambeth
- World record setters in athletics (track and field)
- British athletics Olympic medallist stubs