Shirley Hampton

Shirley Hampton

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1935-09-15) 15 September 1935 (age 90) [1] [ page needed ]
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprinting
Club	Orpington LAC Phoenix AC
Medal record Athletics Representing   England British Empire & Commonwealth Games 1954 Vancouver 4 x 110 relay 1954 Vancouver 220 yards

Shirley Hampton married name Shirley Pirie (born 15 September 1935) is a former athlete who competed for England.

Early life

Hampton originated from Orpington. Her father was Harold and she attended Woolwich Polytechnic. ^{[2] [ full citation needed ]}

Athletics career

Hampton finished second behind Sylvia Cheeseman in the 220 yards event at the 1952 WAAA Championships. ^{[3] [ page needed ]} After finished second behind Ann Johnson in the 220 yards event at the 1952 WAAA Championships, ^[4] she represented England ^[5] and won a silver medal in the 4 x 110 yards relay and a bronze medal in the 220 yards at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada. ^{[6] [7]}

Other achievements in 1954 included winning a bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships in Bern. In 1955, she finished second and third respectively in the sprints at the 1955 WAAA Championships. ^{[8] [ page needed ]}

Hampton finished third behind June Paul in the 220 yards event at the 1956 WAAA Championships ^{[9] [ page needed ]} and then broke the world record with a time of 56.4 when she won the 1958 WAAA Championships. ^{[10] [ page needed ] [11]}

Personal life

She married the English Olympic silver medallist long-distance runner and coach Gordon Pirie on 24 September 1956 at Caxton Hall ^{[12] [ full citation needed ]} and became Shirley Pirie. There were two daughters of the marriage, Joanne and Sara. The couple separated in 1978.

References

1. "Disley's Victory" . Liverpool Daily Post. 16 September 1955. Retrieved 15 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
2. Penge Gazette. 3 July 1953. p. 6.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. "Dorothy Tyler changes style and shocks world champion" . Sunday Express. 15 June 1952. Retrieved 15 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "AAA Championships (women)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
5. "England pick strong team for Empire Games" . Halifax Evening Courier. 22 June 1954. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. "1954 Athletes". Team England.
8. "Margaret Doubles To It - Loses Record" . The People. 3 July 1955. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Girl of 19 beats world record" . Sunday Express. 12 August 1956. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "England's Girl Athletes Can Hold Australians" . Weekly Dispatch (London). 8 June 1958. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
11. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
12. Edinburgh Evening News. 4 September 1956. p. 6.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Shirley Hampton at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)