Alan Paterson

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For the New Zealand cartoonist and curator, see Alan Stuart Paterson. For the British Olympic sprinter, see Alan Patterson (athlete).

Alan Paterson
Paterson in 1945, aged 17
Personal information
Full nameAlan Sinclair Paterson
Born(1928-06-11)11 June 1928
Glasgow, Scotland
Died8 May 1999(1999-05-08) (aged 70)
Port Credit, Ontario, Canada
Years active1944–1952
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventHigh jump
Medal record
Men's
athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 1950 Brussels High jump
Silver medal – second place 1946 Oslo High jump
Representing  Scotland
British Empire Games
Silver medal – second place 1950 Auckland High jump

Alan Sinclair Paterson (11 June 1928 – 8 May 1999) was a British track and field athlete who competed in the high jump. He was one of Europe's best high jumpers during the immediate post-World War II period. He was the champion at the European Athletics Championships in 1950 and was also silver medallist at the 1946 event. He won a silver medal for Scotland at the 1950 British Empire Games.

He was a two-time Olympic finalist in the event, having competed at the

British record at the time and he was a three-time champion at the AAA Championships.[1]

Career

Born in

Amateur Athletic Association junior title in 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄4 in) before taking the senior title at the AAA Championships.[1] He was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 1946 European Athletics Championships in August and claimed the silver medal after a personal best jump of 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in), finishing behind Sweden's Anton Bolinder.[3] This made the 18-year-old Paterson the youngest ever medallist at the championships.[4]

British record in Glasgow that year with a clearance of 2.02 m (6 ft 7+1⁄2 in) – a mark that ranked him third in the world that season and was the best of his career.[5][6] Paterson was again beaten by a foreigner at the 1948 AAA championships, this time by Australian John Winter.[1] He contested Winter again at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the Australian came out on top with the gold medal while Paterson was the home nation's best performer in seventh place with 1.90 m (6 ft 2+3⁄4 in). With eight other jumpers achieving the same height, his placing was decided on count-back – the first time the rule, which takes into account previous missed heights, was used in Olympic competition.[7]

He won his second and third AAA national titles in 1949 and 1950.

Joshua Majekodunmi (his first and only international medal for Scotland).[8]

Paterson emigrated to Canada in 1951 and ceased national competition as a result. His final international appearance came at the

Port Credit, Ontario.[2]

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
1946 European Championships Oslo, Norway 2nd High jump
1948 Olympic Games London United Kingdom 7th High jump
1950 European Championships Brussels, Belgium 1st High jump
1950 British Empire Games Auckland, New Zealand 2nd High jump
1952 Olympic Games Helsinki, Finland 24th High jump

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1945-1959. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alan Paterson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b European Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  4. ISBN 0-85112-678-2
  5. ^ Janusz Waśko, Andrzej Socha: Athletics National Records Evolution 1912 – 2006. Zamość - Sandomierz: 2007
  6. ^ Alan Paterson. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  7. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's High Jump". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  8. ^ Commonwealth Games (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014.

External links

Media related to Alan Paterson at Wikimedia Commons


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