Bill Tancred
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William Raymond Tancred (born 6 August 1942) is a sports administrator, academic and former international
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in the discus and won bronze, and silver medals in successive
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
from 1970 to 1974.Sporting-heroes.net Commonwealth Games 1978 results
/ref> He was the British national discus champion on nine occasions, and held the British record for 25 years, his personal best being 64.94m in 1974. He also competed in the
shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...
and remains one of the top ten British shot putters.GBR athletics UNITED KINGDOM ALL-TIME LISTS – MEN
/ref> Athleticsweekly.com has ranked Tancred as the greatest British discus thrower of all-time by virtue of his long reign as British record-holder and profusion of
AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...
titles. Bill Tancred was also the first UK athlete to break the 200 ft/61m discus barrier in 1972, which was also a UK all-comers record for the event (61.94m). Even in 2011 he could still claim to be one of the best all round throwers ever in British Athletics.


Early life

Bill Tancred was born in
Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
,
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, and grew up in
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
. He was one of five siblings, one younger brother being the athlete and professional strongman, Pete Tancred. As a school boy, the
javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...
was his main event but he developed elbow trouble and was forced to abandon this event. His father, Adrian, believed that this was not a barrier to athletics in another discipline and Bill took up the discus in which his father coached him. After the family moved to
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
from Felixstowe he would find roads with adjoining fields to throw into and would often lose the discus in the long grass. In addition, chalk was used to draw a discus and shot circle on the road. His father would get him to read books on the subject as well, to hone the technique, a discipline not used widely in the 1950s. Bill's father would also improvise with equipment if none were available. He joined Ipswich Harriers and trained at the
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
training ground. This gave him opportunities for competition within the county and also in the Eastern Counties framework.


Sport

Having represented his county, he competed in the Eastern Counties and rose quickly to domestic prominence. His first international vest for Great Britain was in 1964 against the Benelux Countries in
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
. Although proud of his British and European and Commonwealth achievements, Tancred has made it clear that the pinnacle of being an athlete is to compete at the Olympic games, and in interviews recalls getting a letter signed by the Duke of Edinburgh, telling him that he had been selected to represent Great Britain in the 1968 Olympics. He took his father, mother, friends and siblings for a meal to celebrate. As a young athlete, he recalls being awestruck at the Olympics. He saw
Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping , he broke the existing record by a margin of and his world r ...
set the
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
record, recalled talking to athletes about a new high jump method called the Fosbury flop, witnessed the Black power salute of the American sprinters and found himself competing against his idol,
Al Oerter Alfred Oerter Jr. (; September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic ...
, already the three time Olympic discus champion who won his fourth gold medal in Mexico, which he reportedly said was one for each of his daughters. Of his own performance, Tancred has said that he felt he ought to have thrown better but a combination of over training and lack of experience in such a big arena as the Olympics were his downfall. The discipline of waiting long periods between throws was something he had not appreciated and found hard to reconcile to a more explosive approach that he employed. One of the nineteen occasions that he broke the British record was at the
1972 AAA Championships The 1972 AAA Championships was the 1972 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 14 to 15 July 1972 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engla ...
in Crystal Palace, where he won a windproof jacket as an event prize with the sponsors name on it (
Nationwide Building Society Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution and the largest building society in the world. As of 2024, it serves over 16 million members and operates entirely for their benefit, without shareholders. The society was e ...
). However, he was not permitted to wear the jacket at AAA events due to the strict rules about sponsorship. In total, Tancred represented
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
55 times. He competed at the
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
and
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
in the discus, and was also selected for the shot put event in 1972 but a shoulder injury prevented him in competing. Bill Tancred also took part in three
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
,
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
, (where he achieved the bronze medal) and
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
(where he achieved the silver medal). He also competed at the 1966, 1969 and 1971 European Championships. Domestically, he set the British discus record on nineteen occasions. He was seven times the AAA Champion having won the AAA discus title from 1966 to 1970 and 1972–1973. His mark of 64.94m in 1974, set in Loughborough on 21 July 1974, was his personal best but his British record was set after this in Woodford on 10 August 1974 at 64.32m. This remained the best thrown by a British athlete until
Richard Slaney Richard Charles Slaney (born 16 May 1956) is a male British discus thrower who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat winner of the Britain's Strongest Man title. At the UK Athletics Champions ...
bettered it on 1 July 1985, in
Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...
, Oregon, United States, although unofficially. Robert Weir officially broke the record in 1997. Tancred remains sixth on the British all-time list for the discus. He also competed in the shot and remains one of the top ten British shot putters. He won the British National Indoor (AAA) Championships for the shot in 1969 and 1976. Interestingly, he came 3rd in the AAA junior championships for the javelin in 1960.


Life outside sport

Tancred also served in the Army, first with the
1st East Anglian Regiment The 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History As a result of the Defence Review, the 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment amalgamated on 29 ...
in Aden 1964 and then with the
Army Physical Training Corps The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education and has been headquartered in Aldershot since its foundation in 1860. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Traini ...
as a staff instructor at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. After his military service, he attended
Loughborough College Overview Loughborough College is a large general further education college in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It provides both further education (FE) and higher education (HE) courses on a single campus. The colleg ...
for teacher training, and then went on to
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
, renowned for its sporting reputation, for a master's degree in
human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, ecology, nutrition, populat ...
. He then obtained another master's degree by research, in
physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
. Continuing his education he received a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
Fellowship to study for a doctorate in sports management in the United States (West Virginia University). As an academic he has taught and lectured in schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities, and among his many positions was for a long time the director of physical education and sport at
Sheffield University The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth College in 1879 ...
as well as the professor of sports studies at
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) is a public university in Buckinghamshire, England, with campuses in High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Uxbridge and Great Missenden. The institution dates from 1891, when it was founded as the School of Science and A ...
and the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), founded as a collaboration between the University of East Anglia and the Unive ...
including lecturing in 1976-1980 at the Trent Polytechnic, Clifton, the Education School.''Nottingham Evening Post'' Thursday 17 June 1976, page 26 At Sheffield University he developed the UK's first postgraduate degree courses in both Sports Management and Sports Coaching. The latter, unlike any other sports course, combined physical education with scientific and clinical expertise from a medical school in 1991. As a former soldier, Bill created another "first" - a postgraduate diploma level in physical education and sports studies - specially created for
Army Physical Training Corps The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education and has been headquartered in Aldershot since its foundation in 1860. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Traini ...
(APTC) officers and offered by Sheffield University from 1989. No other university had previously accepted military officers in this way in sport studies. This innovation facilitated and opened doors for all APTC personnel to secure places in other higher education institutes to study for masters degrees and diplomas in medical rehabilitation, health studies, sports sciences and sports leadership. He is also a published author, having written a number of books as well numerous articles and has presented papers at conferences in subjects relating to human sports performance, health related fitness and coaching. In November 2016 he published an autobiography and during Covid lockdown (2020) published ''Ageing Youthfully - A Way of Life''. With his interest in films and second world war he recently published another book (2024) entitled ''British and U.S.A. Film Stars who served in World War 2'' (Amazon Books). After his retirement from competition, Tancred remained actively involved in sport and served on several committees, including being chairman of the International Athletes Club and president of Sheffield University's
World Student Games The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...
Directorate. He later became the national event coach to the British Amateur Athletics Board (BAAB) and also coach of
UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...
and the
International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...
(IAAF). In 2007 he joined the board of the British Olympic Association. He has been active in pushing forward proposals to encourage greater sport and physical activity participation in schools. In 2007, Bill collaborated with Professor Linda Carson from West Virginia University in the US. Professor Carson of the hugely successful Choosey Kids programme (standing for Choose Healthy Options and Start Young). After watching and studying this fun learning experience for young children to develop good motor skills and exercise with laughter and happiness, he decided to launch a similar programme in England when he returned to help promote healthy lifestyles and curb childhood obesity. He created a name, a cartoon character and delivered many talks around Suffolk to engage children in the programme. With several primary Schools taking up the programme, Bill wrote to the Department for Children Schools and Families in November 2007, who eventually launched a pilot scheme with the same aims, that incorporated cartoon characters to engage pre-school children. Also, during 2007, Bill published articles to promote health and well-being amongst regional committees, taking a prominent lead role against childhood obesity. He also instigated the then novel idea of having a sports bus to serve many communities across the county and engage pre-school children in fun exercises. This project was designed to reach socially disadvantaged and thus cut off from the bigger facilities in towns and cities.. In 1989, Bill was awarded a Winston Churchill Study Fellowship to visit both the USA Olympic Training Academy in Colorado and the Australian Sports Institute in Canberra with a view to recommending that the British Government set up a British Institute of Sport based in Sheffield. His fellowship was to study the development of working relationships between doctors, coaches, trainers, sport scientists, physiotherapists, and the practitioners of sport. After a year's research and discussion with athletes, education and sports sciences specialists, it was recommended that the British Institute of Sport should be created. Through Bill's vision and ambition, the Institute has today firmly cemented the UK as a world-class showcase for international sport in preparation and competition. During 1980-1992, Bill Tancred conducted on behalf of the British Amateur Weight Lifting Association (BAWLA) numerous teachers, leaders and instructors award courses. These courses were aimed for school teachers and those working in the Fitness Industry including the Armed Forces. He also undertook weight training courses at
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...
summer schools and the Blackpool Easter schools for over ten years helping people to gain the necessary qualifications for their workplace. He co-authored a book, ''Weight Training for Sport'', published by
Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...
in 1984. Tancred has been patron to a number of sports charities to include Suffolk Sports Aid Foundation, Inspire Suffolk and Special Olympic Suffolk. In 2018 Tancred received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Suffolk Sports. Tancred was also chairman of the Suffolk Sport Board from 2007 until 2014 and remains a visiting professor in sports and exercise science in the University of Suffolk. In addition, he is a popular and respected speaker within the local community, organisations, societies including the sporting memories charity and to the cruise industry. As a former pupil at Causton/Maidstone Infant School Felixstowe Suffolk, a school house was named after him in 2022 (Tancred House). Having lived in Sheffield for 30 years, he moved back to
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
in 2014.


Honours

Tancred was awarded the General Service Medal with Clasp Radfan 1964 for his service in Aden with the 1st East Anglian Regiment. In 1992 he was awarded an MBE for services to athletics. In 2007 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...
, by the College of Physical Activity and Sports Science and in 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), founded as a collaboration between the University of East Anglia and the Unive ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tancred, Bill 1942 births Living people Academics of Nottingham Trent University Members of the Order of the British Empire Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Quetta English male discus throwers British male discus throwers English male shot putters British male shot putters Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletics (track and field) administrators Academics of the University of Sheffield Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Olympic athletes for Great Britain Royal Anglian Regiment soldiers Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Military personnel from Quetta Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics