Chris Brasher

Christopher William " Chris " Brasher ( born August 21, 1928 in Georgetown ( Guyana ), † 28 February 2003 Chaddleworth, Berkshire ) was a British track and field athlete and Olympic champion in 1956 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Brasher was born in Georgetown, the capital of the then belonging to Great Britain Guyana (British Guiana ). He grew up in Jerusalem, where his father worked in the colonial service.

The geology student at St John 's College, Cambridge was on May 6, 1954 in Oxford, the pacemaker for Roger Bannister when he took the first man ever for a mile less than four minutes.

Two years later, at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, he won a bit surprising the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 8:41,2 min. Brasher was initially disqualified because he had allegedly hindered the Norwegian Ernst Larsen. After Larsen had stated that he had not felt hindered, Chris Brasher was confirmed as Olympic champion.

At the 1952 Olympics Chris Brasher far behind Eleventh had become in the 3,000-meter steeplechase ( 9:14,0 minutes).

After graduating, he worked as a journalist. He was highly respected sports reporter for the newspaper The Observer and the BBC television as well as co-founder of the London Marathon, which was held in 1981 for the first time. For his services Brasher was appointed CBE in 1996. After a month-long illness, he died at the age of 74 years.

Chris Brasher was married to tennis player and French Open champion from 1957 Shirley Bloomer.