Shirley Hampton

Shirley Hampton

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1935-09-15) 15 September 1935 (age 89) [1] [ page needed ]
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprinting
Club	Orpington LAC
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 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. ^{[5] [6]}

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. ^{[7] [ page needed ]}

Hampton finished third behind June Paul in the 220 yards event at the 1956 WAAA Championships ^{[8] [ page needed ]} and then broke the world record with a time of 56.4 when she won the 1958 WAAA Championships. ^{[9] [ page needed ] [10]}

Personal life

She married the English Olympic silver medallist long-distance runner and coach Gordon Pirie on 24 September 1956 at Caxton Hall ^{[11] [ 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. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. "1954 Athletes". Team England.
7. "Margaret Doubles To It - Loses Record" . The People. 3 July 1955. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Girl of 19 beats world record" . Sunday Express. 12 August 1956. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "England's Girl Athletes Can Hold Australians" . Weekly Dispatch (London). 8 June 1958. Retrieved 19 February 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
11. 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)