Simon Shirley (born 3 August 1966 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, United Kingdom) is a retired

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ� ...

who competed for Australia at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

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 ...

, Scotland, and at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and for England at the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games ( French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, between 18 and 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, box ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Canada.

Junior career

Shirley was born in Nottingham but began school in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He then moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

where he attended Mount Gravatt State High School. In December 1983, he won the Boys Under 19 Multiple Event at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

with a total of 6708 points. In 1984, his application to attend the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

was rejected. The following day in Brisbane, he again won the Boys Under 19 Multiple Event at the Australian All Schools Track and Field Championships, this time scoring 7504 points.

Senior career

Shirley first competed in the Decathlon at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Brisbane in April 1985. He scored 7321 points and finished fourth, 293 points behind Peter Hadfield. In March 1986 at the now separate Australian Multiple Events Championships in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, Shirley won his first Australian decathlon title with a score of 7438 points. Shirley was selected to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. He scored 7290 points and finished eighth in the decathlon, 1373 points behind gold medalist

Daley Thompson Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, (born 30 July 1958) is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. He was unbeaten in competit ...

. In 1987, Shirley attended

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

under coach John Chaplin. In February 1988, he returned to Australia to compete in two decathlons. At the first in Brisbane, he set a new personal best score of 7911 points. In March at the Australian Multiple Events Championships in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, he wore his WSU jersey throughout the championships, which enraged some of his fellow countrymen, and regained his national decathlon title with a score of 7814 points. Shirley's career personal best score of 8036 points was achieved at the 1988 Olympic Games in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, where he finished 15th behind gold medalist

Christian Schenk Christian Schenk (; born 9 February 1965 in Rostock, East Germany) is a former decathlete who competed for East Germany and Germany. He won the gold medal in the decathlon in the 1988 Summer Olympics, held in Seoul, South Korea. Sch ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Shirley continued to compete for Australia throughout 1989 but thereafter stated his intention to return to his birth nation of England and compete for Great Britain. His first significant performance as a British athlete was in June 1993 when he won the decathlon at the

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

track meet with a score of 7944 points. Shirley represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

, Canada. His score of 7980 points, his best as a British athlete and second best overall, won him a bronze medal behind winner Mike Smith of Canada. He almost withdrew after seven events, having injured an ankle three weeks earlier, but was persuaded to continue by the England team manager. Shirley competed in five more competitive decathlons, twice failing to finish but twice scoring over 7800 points. At the 1995 Hypo-Bank combined events track meet in Götzis, Austria, Shirley wore a

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

costume while competing and set a personal best of 14.59m in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

Achievements

Notes

Profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Simon 1966 births Living people Athletes from Nottingham Australian decathletes English male decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Sportsmen from Queensland Australian Institute of Sport track and field athletes Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics