Dave Travis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dave Travis

Personal information
Born	(1945-09-09) 9 September 1945 (age 80) Twickenham, London, UK
Height	6 ft 0 in
Weight	190 lb
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Javelin
Medal record Representing  Great Britain World Student Games Gold 1967 Tokyo Javelin throw Representing  England Commonwealth Games Gold 1970 Edinburgh Javelin throw Silver 1974 Christchurch Javelin throw

David Howard Travis, born on September 9, 1945, is a famous British javelin thrower. He competed in the Olympics twice, in 1968 and 1972. He also won gold medals at the World Student Games in 1967 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Dave was an international athlete for many years, from 1965 to 1978, and held the British record for four years.

Dave Travis's Early Life and School Sports

Dave Travis was born in Strawberry Hill, a part of south west London, in 1945. He lived in East Twickenham for his first eleven years. Later, his family moved to Hinchley Wood, which is near Esher.

School Days and Athletic Talent

From 1957 to 1964, Dave attended Hampton Grammar School. This is where his amazing talent for sports really grew. He was excellent at school athletics in many different events.

• In 1960, he first competed in the English Schools Championships. He placed second in the under-15 shot put event.
• He won two javelin titles in 1963 and 1964.
• In 1962, he was also part of the winning sprint relay team for Middlesex Schools.

His club career with Surrey Athletic Club was also very successful. In 1964, he set a British under-19 record in javelin with a throw of 70.70 meters. When he finished secondary school, he was a nationally recognized athlete in three sports: javelin, decathlon, and rugby.

Education and Career Path

After school, Dave went to Loughborough College from 1965 to 1968. There, he earned a teaching qualification and a First Class Diploma.

Teaching and Sports Development

From 1968 to 1990, Dave worked as a PE teacher and a Pastoral Head at Sidney Stringer in Coventry. After that, he moved into a career focused on sports development. This led him to become the Director of Sport in Education for Bristol City Council. In 1999, his hard work in this area was recognized with a national Sportsmatch Award.

Dave Travis's Javelin and Decathlon Career

After his successful school athletics career, Dave made his first senior international appearance in javelin in 1965. He was chosen to compete in the Empire Games in Jamaica in 1966.

Winning Gold and Olympic Dreams

A year later, in 1967, he won the World Student Games title in Tokyo. He then made the Olympic team for the 1968 Games in Mexico City. At that time, his coach was Colin Smith, who was Britain's most successful javelin thrower before Dave.

In 1969, the main event was the European Championships in Athens. Dave finished 9th, which was the best result for Britain in this event so far. He might have done even better, but one of his throws was ruled flat by the judges. This throw could have won him a bronze medal.

Record-Breaking Year: 1970

The year 1970 was Dave's best.

• In July, he set a UK record with a throw of 82.22 meters.
• He won the Commonwealth Games title by almost 3 meters.
• He also had a big win in the European Cup, beating Janis Lusis. Lusis was the Olympic champion and world record holder from Russia. Dave's throw of 83.44 meters in that competition set a new British Record.
• He also won the 1970 AAA Championships title that year.

Consistent Performance and Decathlon

Dave continued to be the top javelin thrower in the UK through the early 1970s. He won seven AAA Championships javelin titles between 1965 and 1974. He also represented England and won a silver medal at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.

Even though he often threw over 80 meters in competitions, his personal best throw stayed the same. He was one of the most consistent javelin throwers in the UK. He recorded 21 throws over 80 meters between 1969 and 1974.

Dave's decathlon career began in 1964 when he set a British junior record. In 1965, he made his international senior debut in decathlon, setting a UK record that was soon broken. In 1968, he tried to qualify for both the javelin and decathlon events for the Olympic Games in Mexico City. He just missed qualifying for decathlon, even though he set a new personal best of 7,067 points. After that season, he decided to focus only on javelin.

Other Sports: Rugby and Weightlifting

Dave Travis was also very good at other sports, including rugby and weightlifting.

Rugby Union Achievements

He played rugby alongside athletics when he was at school. He reached the highest level for school players.

• In 1963 and 1964, he was chosen to play for English Schools in matches against Wales (twice) and France.
• In the selection trials, he was chosen over David Duckham, who later became a very important player for the English senior team.

In 1965, he played for Loughborough Colleges. He played alongside the famous Welsh player Gerald Davis. However, he stopped playing rugby that year to focus on athletics. He briefly returned to the game for the 1970-71 season, playing for Richmond. This was his last top-level appearance. Later in life, at age 38, he played for Barker Butts RFC in the Warwickshire Cup Final.

Weightlifting Skills

While training for athletics, Dave also became very skilled in Olympic Weightlifting. He trained with the Twickenham and Sunbury clubs. This led him to win Middlesex and South East England titles. His personal best lifts were 105 kg for the snatch and 135 kg for the clean and jerk.

Coaching Career

As Dave's throwing days came to an end, he started coaching. He worked with a group of throwers in Birmingham, including Dave Ottley and John Trower. This led to him briefly becoming a National Event Coach.

His coaching helped Dave Ottley win a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. He also helped John Trower become a high-level coach. John Trower went on to assist famous athletes like Steve Backley and Mick Hill in winning international titles.