 Whetton at the 1964 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 September 1941 (1941-09-06) (age 84) Mansfield,Nottinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 1500 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Sutton-in-Ashfield Harriers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbest | 1500 m – 3:39.45 (1969) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John Whetton (born 6 September 1941)[1] is a retired British middle-distance runner. He is best noted for winning gold in the1500 metres at the1969 European Athletics Championships and reaching the 1500 metre final in both the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics.[2]
Whetton ran amateur athletics for local club Sutton-in-Ashfield Harriers.[3] One of Whetton's first titles was the gold in 1500 metres at the1963 Summer Universiade held atPorto Alegre, Brazil. In 1964 Whetton qualified to represent Great Britain at the1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, and was one of three British competitors who ran the 1500 metres; the other two being William McKim and fellow Harriers club-mateAlan Simpson.[4] Whetton qualified through the first heat, coming third with a time of 3:44.2. He and Simpson both qualified to the semi-finals and then the finals, with Whetton taking the final slot as the fastest non-qualifying athlete. In the final Whetton finished eighth out of nine, recording a time of 3:42.4, while Simpson ended fourth.
In 1966 Whetton participated in theEuropean Indoor Games taking his first major gold medal when he won the race by nearly three seconds over second placedOleg Rayko. Whetton managed to retain the European Indoor title over the next two years, atPrague andMadrid.
Whetton ecame theBritish 1 mile champion after winning the BritishAAA Championships title at the1968 AAA Championships.[5][6]
Whetton again represented Great Britain in the altitude influenced1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and again qualified for the final. In the final Whetton finished fifth, though a full four seconds outside the medal places.[1] His final major medal came in the1969 European Athletics Championships when he won the 1500 metres in Athens. In a close final Whetton beat Ireland'sFrancis Murphy to take the gold.
He representedEngland in the 1,500 metres, at the1970 British Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh, Scotland.[7][8][9]
European Athletics Championships champions in men's1500 metres | |
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