Sharon Danville (née Colyear, 22 April 1955 – 23 November 2024) was a British sprinter and

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. She represented Great Britain at the

1976 Montreal Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal w ...

and at the

1984 Los Angeles 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 ...

. She won a bronze medal in the

100 metres hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is ...

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 ...

, while in the

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

, she won a gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the 1978 European Championships.

Biography

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Colyear won the 1969 AAAs Under 15 200m title in 25.5 secs and the 1970 AAAs U17 200m title in 25.0 secs. Colyear became the British 200 metres hurdles champion after winning the British

WAAA Championships The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime. Since 1880, the Amateur Athl ...

title at the 1971 WAAA Championships. On 22 June 1976, Colyear achieved her lifetime best in the 100m hurdles with 13.11 secs in Poland. At the

1976 WAAA Championships The 1976 WAAA Championships were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London, from 20 to 21 August 1976. Results + Held on 30 & 31 May ...

, she then won the AAAs 100m hurdles title, ahead of

Judy Vernon Judith Ann 'Judy' Vernon (born 22 September 1945) is a female English former 100 metres hurdler, who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Biography Vernon, a member of Mitcham Athletic Club, finished second behind Sharon Colyear in the 20 ...

, running a wind-assisted 13.47 secs, and also finished second behind

Andrea Lynch Andrea Joan Caron Lynch (born 24 November 1952) is a British former track and field sprinter who competed mainly in the 100 metres. A two-time Olympian, the peak of her career was becoming a bronze medallist in the 100 m at the 1974 European ...

in the 100m, running 11.39. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, she ran 13.18 in her heat to qualify for the 100m hurdles semifinals, where she was eliminated in 17.32. She also finished second to

Sonia Lannaman Sonia May Lannaman (born 24 March 1956) is a British former athlete, who competed mainly in the 100 metres. She won the Commonwealth Games 100 metres title in Edmonton 1978 and won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the ...

in the AAAs 100m final in 1977, running 11.35. Colyear regained her AAAs 100m hurdles title at the

1978 WAAA Championships The 1978 WAAA Championships sponsored by Sunsilk were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London, from 18 to 19 August 1978. The 10,000 w ...

, running 13.51 to defeat

Shirley Strong Shirley Elaine Strong (married name Holloway, born 18 November 1958) is a British former athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres hurdles. In this event, she won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a gold medal at the ...

, who was second. At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, she won a bronze medal in an English sweep of the 100m hurdles final, with a wind-assisted 13.17, finishing behind Lorna Boothe (12.98) and Shirley Strong (13.08). She did win a gold medal in the relay, along with teammates Bev Goddard,

Kathy Smallwood Kathryn Jane Cook (née Smallwood; born 3 May 1960) is a former athlete, specialising in sprint and sprint relays. She is one of the most successful female sprinters in British athletics history. She is three-times an Olympic bronze medallist ...

and

. A month later at the 1978 European Championships, she won a silver medal for Great Britain in the relay with the same three teammates. In the 100m hurdles, she ran 13.23 secs in her heat to qualify for the semis, where she ran 13.25, missing the final by one place. After several quiet seasons and now competing as Sharon Danville, she ran 13.66 to finish third in the 100m hurdles at the 1983 UK Championships behind Shirley Strong and Pat Rollo. She earned selection for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, where she ran 13.46 in her 100m hurdles heat to qualify for the semifinals, where she improved to 13.35 for fifth in the second semi, missing the final by one place. Colyear-Danville died on 23 November 2024 at the age of 69. The Sharon Colyear-Danville season opener track meet, held at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

annually in December, is named after her.

International competitions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colyear, Sharon 1955 births 2024 deaths English female hurdlers British female hurdlers English female sprinters British female sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Medallists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Boston University Terriers women's track and field athletes 20th-century English sportswomen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics