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Reading Athletic Club

British athletic club

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Reading Athletic Club, is an athletics club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The club officially formed in November 1881; however records show that it was one of the inaugural clubs that formed the governing body of athletics at that time, the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) in 1880. There are also references dating back to the late 1860s, making the club one of the oldest and longest established athletic clubs in the United Kingdom.

01History

Reading Athletic Club's earliest Olympian was Billy Leach who qualified for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm for the long jump and standing long jump after finishing second in the Olympic trial at Stamford Bridge but did not start the event.

In 1964 Ann Packer became Britain's first female Olympic gold medalist, winning the 800 metres event at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Reading AC meeting in 2010 at the Palmer Park Stadium
Reading AC meeting in 2010 at the Palmer Park Stadium

02Notable athletes

Olympians

Athlete Events Games Medals/Pos, Ref
Billy LeachLong jump1912
Henry Oliver3000 m steeplechase1928
Harry Whittle400 m hurdles, long jump1948, 1952
Ann Packer400 m, 800 m1964
Bev Goddard-Callender200 m, 4×100 m, 4×400 m1976, 1980, 1984
Kathy Smallwood-Cook100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 4×100 m1980, 1984
Simmone Jacobs100 m, 200 m, 4×100 m1984, 1988, 1992, 1996

Commonwealth Games

Athlete Events Games Medals/Pos, Ref
Anthony Chivers3 miles1950
Nigel SpratleyShot put1994
Ann Packer (no.55) on her way to Olympic gold
Ann Packer (no.55) on her way to Olympic gold
Watch videos about Reading Athletic ClubExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Reading Athletic Club, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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