Shirley Strong, our Olympic Silver Medallist, will this year be inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame along with such luminaries as Mo Farah & Sonia Lannaman and another of our former members, Mike Holmes (coach to Katarina Johnson-Thompson).

Shirley won Olympic silver in Los Angeles in 1984—the first such medal by a British sprint hurdler for 24 years. She was given as much chance as anyone of winning the gold but lost the lead after the eighth hurdle and was beaten by 0.04—although recording the second best time of her career.

A year earlier she achieved arguably a finer result at the inaugural World championships against the elite of East Europe (who all missed the ‘84 games) when she placed fifth, just 0.16 off bronze.

Twice an English schools winner Shirley won Commonwealth silver aged nineteen and upgraded to gold at the next games in 1982. She succeeded Lorna Boothe as GB number one and dominated for six seasons, winning the WAAA title on each occasion. Similarly she broke the British record in 1980 and held on to it until 1988. 

Hall of Fame and Awards Evening returns for 2026 - England Athletics