Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.

Early life and education

Born in Georgetown,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, Brasher went to Rugby School and then

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, where he read

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. He was a keen mountaineer, and as a student was president of the Cambridge University Mountaineering Club, and in 1948 led an expedition to Baffin Island with W. A. Deer.

Sporting career

On 6 May 1954, he acted as pacemaker for Roger Bannister when the latter ran the first sub-four-minute mile at Iffley Road Stadium in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Brasher paced Bannister for the first two laps, while his friend Chris Chataway paced the third. Two years later, at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Brasher finished first in the 3,000 metres steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes 41.2 seconds, but was disqualified for allegedly interfering with another runner, Ernst Larsen of Norway. The following day, after an investigation, he was reinstated as gold medallist. Brasher had been celebrating for several hours before the delayed medal ceremony, and later claimed to have been “the only Olympic champion to be totally and absolutely slaughtered when he received a medal”. Brasher was on the podium three times at the AAA Championships in the steeplechase event at the 1952 AAA Championships, 1955 AAA Championships and the 1956 AAA Championships. He was one of the pioneers of

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

in Britain and can claim the first public mention of the sport in an article in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' in 1957: :"I have just taken part, for the first time, in one of the best sports in the world. It is hard to know what to call it. The Norwegians call it 'orientation'..."

Later career

He had careers in print journalism, as sports editor for ''The Observer'' newspaper, and in broadcasting, as a reporter for the '' Tonight'' programme. He founded Chris Brasher's Sporting Emporium in 1971; this later became Sweatshop. In 1978, he designed the Brasher Boot: a walking boot with the comfort of a running shoe. They were merged with Berghaus under Pentland ownership in 2014, and were discontinued before 2017. In 1981 John Disley and Brasher founded the London Marathon. In 1983 he became the second president of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, an office which he held until 1987. Also in 1983 Brasher partnered with his longtime friend John Disley to found Fleetfoot Limited in Lancaster. Fleetfoot distributed The Brasher Boot and other sporting goods to retailers. Fleetfoot acquired the rights to be the UK distributor of Reebok and subsequently traded as Reebok UK before becoming a subsidiary of the Pentland Group in 1988. After the acquisition by Pentland, Brasher remained active in the company as chairman of the board. Reebok UK was sold to Reebok International in 1990 when Pentland Group sold its 55% ownership of Reebok United States and Reebok International.

Personal life and honours

Brasher married the English tennis champion Shirley Bloomer in 1959. Brasher was awarded the CBE in 1996. He was awarded the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

's Livingstone Medal in 2002. In 2003, he died at his home in Chaddleworth, Berkshire, after struggling for several months against

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasher, Chris 1928 births 2003 deaths Athletes from Georgetown, Guyana People from Chaddleworth British Guiana people Guyanese people of British descent English male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners British male steeplechase runners English male steeplechase runners British newspaper editors British sportswriters English male journalists Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics English Olympic competitors Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England Orienteering in the United Kingdom Orienteering innovators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Pacemakers Burials at St Peter's, Petersham 20th-century English sportsmen People educated at Rugby School