George Derek Ibbotson was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s.
11 Facts About Derek Ibbotson
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Derek Ibbotson was of the generation that included other great British 'milers' such as Roger Bannister, Chris Brasher and Christopher Chataway.
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Derek Ibbotson was the junior champion in Britain in 1951 and after service in the Royal Air Force, Ibbotson returned to competition.
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Derek Ibbotson represented England in the Empire Games at Cardiff in 1958, finishing tenth in the 3 miles.
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Derek Ibbotson soldiered on and in 1960, in a bid to enter the Rome Olympics, he copied Gordon Pirie who, when he was struggling for form, increased his racing and took part in shorter races than usual, because it was good speed training.
6.
Derek Ibbotson was one of many signatories in a letter to The Times on 17 July 1958 opposing the policy of apartheid in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'.
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Derek Ibbotson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to athletics.
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Derek Ibbotson played golf until he was in his 70s.
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Derek Ibbotson's first wife, Madeline Wooller, was an English cross country international runner.
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Madeline and Derek Ibbotson divorced and later Derek Ibbotson married Ann Parmenter.
11.
Derek Ibbotson died in Wakefield on 23 February 2017, aged 84.