John Wrighton

John Wrighton

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	10 March 1933 Ilford, England
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	400 m
Club	Southgate Harriers
Medal record Representing   Great Britain athletics European Championships 1958 Stockholm 400 metres 1958 Stockholm 4 × 400 m relay Representing   England British Empire & Commonwealth Games 1958 Cardiff 4 × 440 y Relay

John Derek Wrighton MB, BS, FRCS (born 10 March 1933) is a retired track and field athlete who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Wrighton finished third behind Peter Higgins in the 440 yards event at the 1957 AAA Championships. ^[1]

He represented England and won a silver medal in the 4 × 440 yards relay at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. ^{[2] [3]} Shortly afterwards he won two gold medals at the 1958 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden: in the men's individual 400 metres and in the 4 × 400 metres relay, alongside Ted Sampson, John MacIsaac, and John Salisbury. Known for both his pronounced lean when running and his erratic pacing, John Wrighton and John Salisbury marked the beginning of the renaissance of British quarter miling after the second World War. ^[4]

Wrighton became the British 440 yards champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1959 AAA Championships ^{[5] [6]} and then at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, he represented Great Britain in the 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay events. ^[7]

Personal life

From 1958, Wrighton served on a short-service commission with the Royal Navy, achieving the rank of Surgeon Lieutenant, after which he was placed on the emergency list and retired in May 1961. He then completed his medical training becoming FRCS in 1967 and made his home in Dorset where he worked for many years as an orthopaedic surgeon.

Wrighton was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University of Bournemouth in 2007. Wrighton served on the board of the university for seven years. ^[8]

References

1. "AAA Championship results" . Weekly Dispatch (London). 14 July 1957. Retrieved 1 May 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
2. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
3. "1958 Athletes". Team England.
4. Watman, Mel: History of British Athletics 1968, Pub Robert Hale Ltd. p54
5. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
6. "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
7. "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
8. "Surgical pioneer honoured". Dorset Echo. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

External links

• "British Olympic Committee". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
• Wrighton awarded doctorate by Bournemouth University ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• John Wrighton at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)