Ray Middleton (racewalker)

Raymond Christopher Middleton (9 August 1936 – 8 January 2023) was a British racewalker.[1] He represented Great Britain at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the 50 kilometres race walk.[2] He was also a six-time participant at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup between 1961 and 1973.[3] He took silver medals at the 1963 IAAF World Race Walking Cup (behind István Havasi) and 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (behind Ron Wallwork).[4][5]

Ray Middleton
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
IAAF World Race Walking Cup
Silver medal – second place1963 Varese50 km walk
Representing  England
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place1966 Kingston20 mi walk

Born in Marylebone, he joined Belgrave Harriers athletics club and began competing internationally for Great Britain in his twenties.[2] He competed at the European Athletics Championships on three occasions (1962, 1966, 1969) with his best placing at that competition being fifth (achieved in both 1966 and 1969).[6]

Nationally, he had much success at the Race Walking Association championships. He won the 50 km title in 1963 as well as being runner-up in 1965, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1970. He placed in the top three on five occasions over the 20-mile championship distance.[7] He also was third in the 7-mile race at the AAA Championships in 1962.[8]

Middleton died of respiratory failure following an infection, on 8 January 2023, at the age of 86.[9]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1961 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Lugano, Switzerland 4th 50 km walk 4:39:24
1962 European Championships Belgrade, Yugoslavia — 50 km walk DQ
1963 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Varese, Italy 2nd 50 km walk 4:17:15
1964 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 13th 50 km walk 4:25:49.2
1965 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Pescara, Italy 7th 50 km walk 4:19:14
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Kingston, Jamaica 2nd 20 mi walk 2:45:19
European Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th 50 km walk 4:23:01.0
1967 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Bad Saarow, East Germany 8th 50 km walk 4:29:23
1969 European Championships Athens, Greece 5th 50 km walk 4:27:00.0
1970 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Eschborn, West Germany 11th 50 km walk 4:19:58
1973 IAAF World Race Walking Cup Lugano, Switzerland 19th 50 km walk 4:22:25

References
  1. Raymond Middleton. All-Athletics. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  2. Ray Middleton. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  3. IAAF World Race Walking Cup Taicang 2014 Facts & Figures. IAAF. Retrieved on 16 April 2016.
  4. IAAF World Race Walking Cup. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  5. Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  6. European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 - STATISTICS HANDBOOK. European Athletics Association, pp. 377-384. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  7. RWA Men's Race Walking Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  8. AAA Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 17 April 2016.
  9. "Olympic race walker Ray Middleton dies". Athletics Weekly. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
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