John Ivor Disley CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and administration.[1] He was born in Corris,[2] a village in Gwynedd and attended Oswestry Boys High School in Oswestry before studying at Loughborough College.[1]
He competed for Great Britain in the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki in the 3000 metres steeplechase where he won the bronze medal.[1] He set five British records in the steeplechase and four at two miles. He also set Welsh records at six different distances. He also broke the record for the traverse of the Welsh 3000 foot peaks.
He represented Wales twice at the Commonwealth Games, competing in 1954 and 1958, but did not win a medal either time. Disley's job was teaching PE at Isleworth Grammar School in south-west London.[1] In 1957, Disley became Chief Instructor, and later Committee Chairman - a position he held until 1966.
Disley was one of the founders of the London Marathon, first held in 1981, after running the New York Marathon in 1979 and being very impressed by its success. He was president of the London Marathon Charitable Trust.[1] Disley became vice-chairman of the UK Sports Council in 1974, a post he held until 1982. He was the leading pioneer of orienteering in the UK. He also competed in the 1966 World Orienteering Championships.[3] John was the Co-founder of Oswestry Olympians Athletics Club in Oswestry along with Doug Morris.
Disley was a member of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and was President of the Snowdonia Society. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1979 New Year Honours.[4]
^ abcde"John Disley: London Marathon co-founder dies aged 87". BBC Wales. BBC. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
^Peter Nichols (17 February 2017). "John Disley obituary". The Guardian.
^"World Orienteering Championships 1966". International Orienteering Federation. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
^United Kingdom list: "No. 47723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1978. p. 8.
John Ivor Disley CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the...
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applicants for the 2025 event. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and JohnDisley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to October...
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and participation in running grew after Olympians Chris Brasher and JohnDisley founded the London Marathon and Brendan Foster started the Great North...
ownership in 2014, and were finally discontinued before 2017. In 1981 JohnDisley and Brasher founded the London Marathon. In 1983 he became the second...
of honour, the sports historian Philip Barker, and Vice-President, Dr JohnDisley. The LAC archives reside, with other track and field memorabilia of national...
details Horace Ashenfelter United States Vladimir Kazantsev Soviet Union JohnDisley Great Britain 1956 Melbourne details Chris Brasher Great Britain Sándor...
Fraser (grandson of Mad Frankie Fraser), and more recently Andrew Moran. JohnDisley, nicknamed the "King of Marbella",[citation needed] (not to be confused...
details Horace Ashenfelter United States Vladimir Kazantsev Soviet Union JohnDisley Great Britain 1956 Melbourne details Chris Brasher Great Britain Sándor...
town are included in the Cheshire parish of St John, Disley, and are served by the Church of St John the Divine, Furness Vale. The Roman Catholic Church...
Ashenfelter United States 8:45.4 Vladimir Kazantsev Soviet Union 8:51.6 John Disley Great Britain 8:51.8 4 × 100 metres relay details United States (USA)...
(CCPR), succeeding JohnDisley who had resigned after only a short period in the post. Early 1960 was a Senior member of Sir John Hunt's expedition to...
player (Scotland, British and Irish Lions, London Scottish). 8 February JohnDisley, 87, steeplechase runner, Olympic bronze medallist (1952), and co-founder...
field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon JohnDisley (1928–2016), athlete and co-founder of the London Marathon Hugh Jones...
Yarnold (Skeleton) John Wodehouse (Polo) John Astor (Rackets) John Shepherd, Frederick Humphreys and Edwin Mills (Tug of War) John Field-Richards, Bernard...
medallist Tenby Davies (1884–1932), world professional half-mile champion JohnDisley (born 1928), 3000 metres steeple chaser Dai Greene (born 1986) Tanni...
2006) 1928 – Pedro Ferrándiz, Spanish basketball coach (d. 2022) 1928 – JohnDisley, Welsh athlete (d. 2016) 1928 – Pete Rademacher, American boxer (d. 2020)...
the 1950s and was heavily supported by renowned Olympians including JohnDisley and Chris Brasher. The early years were helped by orienteers from Sweden:...
William Charles "Diz" Disley (27 May 1931 – 22 March 2010) was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and banjoist. He is best known for his acoustic jazz guitar...
1996) 23 October – Keith Jones, footballer (d. 2007) 20 November – JohnDisley, distance runner (d. 2016) 19 December – Gwyn Rowlands, rugby union international...
Howard Winstone Boxing 1957 Dai Rees Golf 1956 Joe Erskine Boxing 1955 JohnDisley Athletics (3000 metre steeplechase) 1954 Ken Jones Rugby union, Athletics...
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