Jean Pickering facts for kids
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| Birth name | Jean Catherine Desforges | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 July 1929 Forest Gate, London, England |
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| Died | 25 March 2013 (aged 83) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jean Catherine Pickering (born Desforges) was an amazing British athlete. She was born on July 4, 1929, in Forest Gate, London, and passed away on March 25, 2013. Jean was a track and field star, mainly competing in the 80 metres hurdles and long jump.
She won bronze medals at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Jean is also the only British woman to win gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in both a running race (the 4x100 meter relay in 1950) and a jumping event (the long jump in 1954). During her career, she even set new British records in the women's pentathlon and the long jump.
Jean and her husband, Ron Pickering, had a huge positive impact on British athletics. They especially helped young athletes through the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. Their son, Shaun Pickering, also became an Olympian and won a medal at the Commonwealth Games in shot put.
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Jean's Athletics Journey
Jean started her international career at just eighteen years old. She first competed in the 80-meter hurdles. In 1952, she represented Great Britain at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. There, she finished fifth in the 80-meter hurdles. She also won a bronze medal in the 4×100 metres relay with her teammates Sylvia Cheeseman, June Foulds, and Heather Armitage.
Breaking Records and Winning Gold
In 1953, Jean Desforges made history by breaking a British record. She became the first British woman to long jump over 20 feet (6.10 meters). This amazing jump happened in Nienburg, Germany.
At the 1950 European Athletics Championships in Brussels, Jean finished fifth in the 80-meter hurdles. She was also part of the team that won the gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay. Four years later, at the 1954 European Athletics Championships in Berne, Switzerland, she became the European Champion in the long jump with a leap of 6.04 meters. In the same championships, she finished sixth in the 80-meter hurdles. Jean remains the only British athlete to win a European gold medal in both a track event and a field event.
Commonwealth Games Success
In 1954, Jean competed at the Athletics at the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada. She showed her versatility by winning two bronze medals. She earned one bronze in the long jump and another in the 80-meter hurdles.
Jean was also a very successful athlete in the AAA Championships, winning eight titles. She won the 80-meter hurdles four times (in 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1954). She won the long jump twice (in 1953 and 1954). And she won the women's pentathlon twice (in 1953 and 1954). Her best times were 11.1 seconds for both the 100-yard dash and the 80-meter hurdles.
Helping Future Athletes
Jean married Ron Pickering, a well-known athletics coach and TV commentator, on October 23, 1954. They had two children: a daughter named Kim and a son named Shaun Pickering. Shaun later became a successful athlete himself.
After Ron passed away in 1991, Jean started the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund. This fund helps support young athletes in Britain from the very beginning of their careers. By 2013, the fund had given out £2.0 million in grants. Many famous British athletes, including Olympic champions like Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Christine Ohuruogu, and Greg Rutherford, received support from this fund when they were younger. About 75% of the British track and field team had received grants from the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund at some point.
Jean was recognized for her amazing work and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2010. She was also added to the England Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011. Jean loved sports until the very end of her life. Even though she had health problems, she made sure to be there for the Athletics at the 2012 London Olympics. She passed away at 83 years old on March 25, 2013.
