David Cropper (26 December 1945 – 3 December 2016) was a British

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

. He competed at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

and the

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 ...

Biographyt

He was born in Birmingham and attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Mansfield. He grew up in

Mansfield Woodhouse Mansfield Woodhouse is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield District, Mansfield district of Nottinghamshire, England. It is about north of Mansfield, along the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers River Maun, Maun and Rive ...

. At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, he 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 ...

in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

event. Cropper became the British 800 metres champion after winning the British

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 ...

title at the

1969 AAA Championships The 1969 AAA Championships was the 1969 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 1 to 2 August 1969 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

Cropper participated in the

1969 European Athletics Championships The 1969 European Athletics Championships were the ninth European Athletics Championships which were held from 16–21 September 1969 at the Karaiskakis Stadium, Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. New at these championships were the w ...

in Athens. Cropper was runner-up in the same event at both the

1971 AAA Championships The 1971 AAA Championships was the 1971 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 23 to 24 July 1971 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engla ...

and

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 ...

. He married fellow athlete Pat Cropper in December 1971, they had one child and lived in Solihull. His wife's family lived on Clumber Road, in North Evington in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

.''Leicester M'' Monday 17 July 1972, page 7 Cropper represented

again at the Olympic Games when competing in the 800 metres at the 1972 Olympics Games in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. After retiring as an athlete he became a well-known administrator and was chairman of the AAA from 1991 to 2004. He was awarded an OBE in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropper, Dave 1945 births 2016 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics British male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain People from Mansfield Woodhouse Sportspeople from Mansfield English male middle-distance runners 20th-century English sportsmen