John Ivor Disley CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

before co-founding the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

and becoming active in sports promotion and administration.

Biography

Disley was born in

Corris Corris is a village in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, about north of the town of Machynlleth. The village lies on the west bank of the Afon Dulas (which here forms the boundary with Powys), around that river's confluence with the Afon Deri. ...

, a village in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

. His father, Herbert Harold Disley was the manager of the Hendreddu Slate Quarry in Aberangell. He attended Oswestry Boys High School in

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

before studying at

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 ...

. Disley became the British steeplechase 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 1952 AAA Championships. Shortly afterwards he represented the Great Britain team at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, in the 3000 metres steeplechase, where he won the bronze medal. Disley set five British records in the steeplechase and four at two miles. He also set Welsh records at six different distances. He also broke the record for the traverse of the Welsh 3000 foot peaks. Disley represented Wales twice at the

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 ...

, competing in 1954 and 1958, but did not win a medal either time. He went on to win two more AAA titles at the 1955 AAA Championships and the 1957 AAA Championships. Disley's job was teaching PE at Isleworth Grammar School in south-west London. In 1957, Disley became Chief Instructor, and later Committee Chairman - a position he held until 1966. Disley was one of the founders of the

, first held in 1981, after running the New York Marathon in 1979 and being very impressed by its success. He was president of the London Marathon Charitable Trust. Disley became vice-chairman of the UK Sports Council in 1974, a post he held until 1982. He was the leading pioneer 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 the UK. He also competed in the 1966 World Orienteering Championships. John was the Co-founder of Oswestry Olympians Athletics Club in Oswestry along with Doug Morris. Disley was a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and was President of the Snowdonia Society. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1979 New Year Honours.

John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award

The John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award is given in Disley's honour. Recipients of the award include: *

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

, 2015 * Hugh Jones, 2016 *

Brendan Foster Sir Brendan Foster (born 12 January 1948) is a British former long-distance runner, athletics commentator and road race organiser. He founded the Great North Run, one of the sport's most high profile half-marathon races. As an athlete, he wo ...

, 2017 * Liz McColgan, 2023 *

Tanni Grey-Thompson Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, ( Grey; born 26 July 1969), known as Tanni Grey-Thompson, is a Welsh life peeress, television presenter and former wheelchair racer. Athletic career Grey-Thompson started wheelchair racin ...

, 2024

References

External links

John Disley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disley, John 1928 births 2016 deaths Sportspeople from Gwynedd Welsh male long-distance runners Welsh male steeplechase runners British male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Welsh Olympic competitors Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) People from Corris