Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former

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 who specialised in 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 ...

. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event.

Early life

Davies was born in Nantymoel near

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

and was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club. He was the son of Tegfryn Davies, a miner, of 14 Commercial Street. He attended Ogmore County Grammar School. He was in the 1st Ogmore Vale Scouts. He played the piano. He gained A-levels in Maths, English and History in 1960. He trained to become a teacher at Cardiff Training College. From September 1964 he taught at Bridgend Grammar School, until October 1965. He was a PE college lecturer at Cardiff College of Education from April 1966.

Career

Davies, a member of Roath Harriers, won an Olympic gold medal in the long jump in 1964 with a mark of , earning himself the nickname "Lynn the Leap" and winning the first ever long jump gold medal for Great Britain. He finished ninth in 1968, having been his nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. In 1964 he also competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and 4×100 metres contests. On 2 November 1964 he returned to a welcome from the Garw Valley and Ogmore Valley, in a motorcade from Cardiff. He was the first Welsh person to win individual Olympic gold in a field event. He was 18th in the 1972 Olympic long jump, his selection being something of a surprise at the time. Outside the Olympics, Davies was the 1966 European champion in the long jump and was the silver medallist three years later. He was also twice 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 ...

champion, winning titles in 1966 and

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 ...

(becoming the first man to win that title twice). Davies was a five-time British long jump champion after winning the British AAA Championships title in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

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 ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

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 1969.

Personal life

Davies was twice a winner of the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year award, taking the honour in 1964 and 1966. After retiring from competitions in 1973 he became

technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. They are responsible for overseeing and coordinating all of the technical aspect ...

of Canadian athletics until 1976 and later prepared the British team for the Moscow Olympics. Davies was appointed a

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

2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before t ...

"for services to Sport, in particular Athletics." He had previously been appointed a Member of the same order (MBE) in the 1967 New Year Honours for services to athletics. He was elected unopposed as President of the

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 ...

Members Council for a further four years following the close of nominations. His girlfriend was 21 year old Meriel Griffiths, an art teacher in Cardiff, and had plans for marriage took place when he returned from Japan. They had met at Cardiff Training College (now Cardiff Metropolitan University). He married on Tuesday 19 July 1966 in Sketty. His wife presented ''Sion a Sian'', a Welsh-language quiz show, with Dewi Richards and Jenny Jones, on Television Wales and the West.''Cambridge Daily News'' Tuesday 10 August 1971, page 28

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Lynn 1942 births Living people Alumni of Cardiff Metropolitan University Sportspeople from Bridgend County Borough Welsh male long jumpers Welsh male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Welsh Olympic competitors Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games European Athletics Championships medalists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Olympic gold 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 1965 Summer Universiade Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games British male long jumpers Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics