Michael Keith Valentine Wheeler (14 February 1935–15 January 2020) was a British athlete who competed the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Biography

Wheeler was educated at Taunton School, where he played arugby and competed in athletics. He won the 1952 England schools 440 yards title at the

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

. The following year he won the 100 yards and 440 yards titles at the English Schools championships. He joined

London Athletic Club London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013.Barker, Philip (2013)"London Athletic club still going stro ...

in 1954 before moving to Bournemouth AC in 1955. Wheeler finished second behind

Peter Fryer Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006) was an English Marxist writer and journalist. Among his most influential works is the 1984 book '' Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain''. Early life Peter Fryer was born near ...

in the 440 yards event at the

1955 AAA Championships The 1955 AAA Championships was the 1955 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 15 to 16 July 1955 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, ...

. Wheeler became the British 440 yards 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

1956 AAA Championships The 1956 AAA Championships was the 1956 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1956 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

. Later that year 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 ...

at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, where he won the bronze medal in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track and field, track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap, totaling 1600 meters. It is traditionally the final event of ...

with his teammates Peter Higgins, John Salisbury, and Derek Johnson. In 1956, Wheeler set an 100 yards English record, recording 9.8 seconds when winning the Hampshire 100 yards title. He had eleven international appearances from 1955 to 1956 before retiring from athletics in 1966.

References

External links

Profile
at the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Michael 1935 births 2020 deaths British male sprinters Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Poole Sportspeople from Watford English male sprinters