David Charles Ottley (born 5 August 1955) is a retired British athlete who mainly competed in the men's

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

event. He competed at three Olympic Games.

Biography

Ottley finished second behind Peter Maync in the Javelin event at the 1976 AAA Championships but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete was considered the British javelin throw champion. The followng year he won the title outright at the 1977 AAA Championships. Ottley represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Canada before going to his first Olympic Games in 1980. At the 1980 Olympics Games in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, 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 javelin throw event. After two second place finishes in the AAAs, and then two third place finishes (the latter as the highest placed British athlete) he won the

1982 AAA Championships The 1982 AAA Championships (sponsored by Robinsons Barley Water) was the 1982 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 24 to 25 July 1982 at the Crystal Pal ...

to continue his domination as Britain's leading javelin thrower. A second Commonwealth Games appearance for

ensued at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. His finest moment came when he won a silver medal in the Javelin event at 1984 Olympic Games in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He won three consecutive AAAA titles from 1984 to 1986 and represented

for a third time at the Commonwealth Games, winning a gold medal at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. Ottley won his sixth and last AAA title at the

1988 AAA Championships The 1988 AAA Championships was an outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), held from 5–7 August at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England.It served as the trials for the 1988 British Olympic te ...

, the same year that he went to a third Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Altogether he won six AAA titles and was British champion ten times and he paved the way for the likes of Mick Hill and

Steve Backley Stephen James Backley, OBE (born 12 February 1969) is an English retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a ...

. Additionally he won five

UK Athletics Championships The UK Athletics Championships was an annual national championship in track and field for the United Kingdom, organised by the British Athletics Federation. The event incorporated the 1980 Olympic trials for the British Olympic team. The venue ...

from 1978 to 1982.

Personal life

Ottley is referenced In "The Boy Who Cried Rat" episode of ''

Good Morning Miss Bliss ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'', also retroactively known as ''Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years'', is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on the Disney Channel from November 30, 1988, until March 18, 1989 (and later also in syndic ...

'', in which Mr. Belding (

Dennis Haskins Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'', which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in '' Saved by the Bell: The New ...

) proclaims that nobody remembers second place, referencing the javelin throw of

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. Miss Bliss however correctly identifies that the silver medallist was indeed Ottley. Ottley now resides in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, having moved home from Essex to

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

, and has two children.

International competitions

References

Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ottley, David Living people 1955 births People from West Thurrock English male javelin throwers British male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games silver medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics