Malcolm Spence (Jamaican athlete)

For the South African athlete, see Malcolm Spence (South African athlete).

Malcolm Spence
Personal information
Full nameMalcolm Emanuel Augustus Spence
Nickname
Mal
Born2 January 1936
Kingston, Jamaica
Died30 October 2017(2017-10-30) (aged 81)
Boca Raton, Florida
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  British West Indies
Olympic Games
1960 Rome 4x400 metres relay
Pan American Games
1959 Chicago 4×400 m
1959 Chicago 400 m
Representing  Jamaica
Commonwealth Games
1962 Perth 4x440 yards
1958 Cardiff 4x440 yards
Central American and Caribbean Games
1962 Kingston 4×400 m
1962 Kingston 400 metres

Malcolm A. E. Spence (2 January 1936 – 30 October 2017) was a Jamaican athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. His twin brother Melville also competed in track and field.

Spence competed for the British West Indies in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, where he won the bronze medal in the men's 4x400 metres relay with his teammates James Wedderburn, Keith Gardner and George Kerr. Curiously, there were two people named Malcolm Spence running the 400 meters distance at both the 1956 and the 1960 Olympics, both getting a bronze medal in 1960. Malcolm Spence from South Africa took the bronze medal in the Open race, while the South African relay team finished in fourth, one second behind Mal Spence's British West Indian relay team. Both twins returned to run the 4x400 relay in 1964 as members of the first independent Jamaican team.

Living in Florida, he served as a torchbearer for the 1996 Olympics in nearby Atlanta.

Both Mal and his twin brother were recruited to run for Arizona State University during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s, among the first international athletes to come to the US for athletics.[1][2]

He is the author of The Lives and Times of Mal and Mel: Three Times Jamaican Olympians published in 2011.[3]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Jamaica
1956 Olympic Games1 Melbourne, Australia 15th (h) 200 m 21.86
9th (sf) 400 m 47.52
8th (h) 4 × 400 m relay 3:11.01
1957 British West Indies Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 400 m 47.3
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:14.0
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Cardiff, United Kingdom 16th (sf) 440 y 48.4
3rd 4 × 440 y relay 3:10.08
1959 British West Indies Championships Georgetown, British Guiana 2nd 400 m
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:09.5
Pan American Games2 Chicago, United States 3rd 400 m 46.6
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:05.3
1960 British West Indies Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st 400 m 46.7
Olympic Games2 Rome, Italy 10th (sf) 400 m 46.99
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:04.13
1962 Central American and Caribbean Games Kingston, Jamaica 3rd 400 m 47.4
1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:11.6
British Empire and Commonwealth Games Perth, Australia 5th 440 y 47.7
1st 4 × 440 y relay 3:10.2
1963 Pan American Games São Paulo, Brazil 3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:12.61
1964 British West Indies Championships Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 400 m 48.2
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 4th 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.3
1966 Central American and Caribbean Games San Juan, Puerto Rico 9th (sf) 400 m 49.4
British Empire and Commonwealth Games Kingston, Jamaica 22nd (h) 440 y 48.7

1Disqualified in the final
2Representing British West Indies

References

  1. ^ "Boca Raton Olympian Malcolm Spence dies at 81". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Sun Devils Remember Malcolm Spence II". thesundevils.com. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  3. ^ Spence, Malcolm (July 2011). The Lives and Times of Mal and Mel: Three Times Jamaican Olympians. ISBN 9781462013968.
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