Nick Whitehead

Nick Whitehead
OBE
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Born(1933-05-29)29 May 1933
Wrexham, Wales
Died6 October 2002(2002-10-06) (aged 69)
Newport, Wales
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Sprints
ClubBirchfield Harriers
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
1960 Rome 4 × 100 m relay
Representing  Wales
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1962 Perth 4 × 110 yd relay

Neville Joseph Whitehead also known as Nick Whitehead OBE (29 May 1933 – 6 October 2002) was a Welsh sprinter and sports administrator.[1]

Biography

Whitehead was born in Wrexham and ran 9.9 secs during the 1957 season.[2] He represented the Welsh team[3] at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, where he competed in the men's 100 yards event and helped Wales secure a fifth place finish in the final of the men's 4 × 110 yards relay with Ron Jones, Dewi Roberts and John Morgan.

He competed for Great Britain in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome in the 4 × 100 metres relay where he won the bronze medal with his teammates Peter Radford, David Jones and David Segal.

Whitehead went to a second Commonwealth Games when he represented the 1962 Welsh team[4] at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia,[5] where he participated in three events; the 100 yards race, the 220 yards race and the 4 × 110 yards relay.[6] He won the bronze medal with Ron Jones, Berwyn Jones and David England in the relay.[7][1]

He would later teach Physical Education at Carnegie Physical Training College in Leeds, now part of Leeds Metropolitan University. He was overall team manager of the British athletics team. He became director of the National Coaching Foundation and eventually Director of Development at the Sports Council for Wales (now Sport Wales).[1] He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1985 New Year Honours.[8] He died, aged 69, in Newport, Pembrokeshire.[1] He had a son Simon and two daughters; Jane and Rachel.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Nick Whitehead: Olympic sprinter and influential sports administrator". The Independent. 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Slender Welsh Hopes of Games Sprint Win". Western Mail. 25 January 1958. p. 9. Retrieved 12 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Wales Cardiff 1958". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Welsh team for Empire Games". Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition). 16 August 1962. p. 10. Retrieved 23 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "The Family Affair". Daily Mirror. 16 August 1962. p. 19. Retrieved 23 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Wales Perth 1962". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ Abrahams, Harold (2 December 1962). "Snell wins disappointing mile". The Times. London: Times Newspapers Limited. p. 22.
  8. ^ "No. 49969". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1984. p. 11.