Mark Pharaoh
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 18 July 1931[1] Wandsworth, Greater London, England[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 27 April 2020 (aged 88)[2] Malvern, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | discus throw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Manchester University AC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mark Pharaoh (18 July 1931 – 27 April 2020)[1] was a track and field athlete, who competed in the discus throw at both the 1952 Helsinki Olympics[3] and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where he came fourth. This has been described as by far the finest single achievement in British discus history.[4] He was also an international shot put and hammer thrower.
Biography
Pharaoh was born 18 July 1931 and as a youth attended Manchester Grammar School where he excelled at sport and was an active member of the Gannet patrol of Troop 4 of the school's scouts. He went on to study at Manchester University.[1]
Pharaoh became the British discus throw champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1952 AAA Championships.[5][6] Shortly afterwards he represented the Great Britain team at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.[7]
Pharaoh successfully retained his title at the 1953 AAA Championships.[8] He was fifth in the shot put at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and second in the hammer at the 1953 Summer International University Sports Week.[9]
At the 1956 Summer Olympics, he came fourth, setting a British record of 54.27 m. in the process and missing the bronze medal by just 13 cm.[4] Pharaoh also represented Walton Athletic Club in Walton-on-Thames.[10]
Pharaoh won two more AAA titles at the 1955 AAA Championships and the 1956 AAA Championships.[11]
National titles
- AAA Championships: 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956
References
- ^ a b c d Profile at sports-reference.com
- ^ "Olympedia – Mark Pharaoh". olympedia.org. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ Profile at British Olympic Association
- ^ a b UK ALL-TIME RANKINGS Top spot for Capes and Tancred, MEL WATMAN rates the top British shot and discus throwers of all time, according to championship and record performances Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Results". The Scotsman. 23 June 1952. Retrieved 21 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AAA walk record by Hardy". Manchester Evening News. 21 June 1952. Retrieved 21 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ British Medallists at the WORLD STUDENT GAMES (UNIVERSIADE)
- ^ Walton AC at the Commonwealth Games
- ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 21 April 2025.