Harold Malcolm Yardley (23 December 1940 – 17 March 2020) was a British sprinter. He competed in the men's 400 metres at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Biography

Yardley was born in

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in 1940 and was raised in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his house was destroyed during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, with his family moving to

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 ...

. At school, he played cricket, football and rugby, but excelled at athletics. In 1959, at the age of 18, Yardley made his international debut for Great Britain. At the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Yardley competed in two events. He was part of the British team that finished fifth in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay, and the men's 400 metres, where he reached the quarter-finals. The following year, along with

Adrian Metcalfe Adrian Peter Metcalfe (2 March 1942 – 2 July 2021) was a British athlete and broadcaster. He set a UK record for the 400m in 1961 and won silver relay medals at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the 1962 European Athletics ...

, Barry Jackson and

Robbie Brightwell Robert Ian Brightwell MBE (27 October 1939 – 6 March 2022) was a British track and field athlete and silver medallist.

, Yardley was part of the number-one ranked 4x400 quartet in the world. However, he missed out on competing at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and 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 ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

due to injury. Yardley was part of the

Birchfield Harriers Birchfield Harriers is an sport of athletics, athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England. As well as welcoming recreational runners they cater for all levels of experience up to and including Olympi ...

, before moving to the Blackburn Harriers, and gaining selection to compete at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

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 ...

. He competed in the men's 400 metres but did not get out of the heats. Yardley twice finished on the podium at the

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 ...

in the 440 yards event at the

1959 AAA Championships The 1959 AAA Championships was the 1959 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA). It was held from 10 to 11 July 1959 at White City Stadium White City Stadiu ...

and

1960 AAA Championships The 1960 AAA Championships was the 1960 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 15 to 16 July 1960 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London ...

. and mcuh later finished runner-up to David Dear in the 200 metres 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 ...

. Outside of athletics, Yardley was also the captain and manager of

Lowerhouse Cricket Club Lowerhouse Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at The Brooks Foundation Ground on Liverpool Road in Burnley. In recent years the club has been very successful, winning the Lancashire League in 2 ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. He had training programmes with several local clubs in the North West of England, including

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, Bury and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. In the late 1960s, Yardley also set up a sports shop in Burnley, with players from the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

coming along. Yardley died in March 2020 at the age of 79, following a short illness. At the time of his death, he still held the Blackburn Harriers' records in the 100, 200 and 400 metres. Yardley was remembered at the In Memoriam section of the

2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2020 took place on 20 December 2020 at the dock10 studios in Salford. The event was broadcast live on BBC One and hosted by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott. Nominees The nominees ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yardley, Malcolm 1940 births 2020 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Sportspeople from Oldham Commonwealth Games athletes for England Athletes from Leicester