Chromatic
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Reading the In Praise of Jo Pavey thread by @Fab Foodie got me thinking about Kathy Smallwood and her career in athletics. While her list of achievements is not littered with numerous gold medals, world and European championships and world records she was in my opinion a greater athlete than the records suggest. Her national records for 100, 200 and 400 from the early 80’s all stood for over 25 years and it is only recently that a couple of them have been beaten, her national 200 m record still stands 30 years later.
What she did achieve was done during a time when female athletics was, with a few exceptions, dominated by the Eastern Bloc countries and I think we all know why that was.
This little bit from her wiki page sums it up:
Her accomplishments are all the more significant because many of her rivals after the fall of the "Iron Curtain" were found to have been performing illegally.
Had she not had to compete against juiced up athletes she would have had a much more illustrious palmares.
What she did achieve was done during a time when female athletics was, with a few exceptions, dominated by the Eastern Bloc countries and I think we all know why that was.
This little bit from her wiki page sums it up:
Her accomplishments are all the more significant because many of her rivals after the fall of the "Iron Curtain" were found to have been performing illegally.
Had she not had to compete against juiced up athletes she would have had a much more illustrious palmares.
)
