09 November 2020

British sprint star and Olympian June Foulds dies, aged 86

Double Olympic sprint medallist June Foulds has died at the age of 86.

The British star started competing at the age of 15 when she joined Spartan Ladies club in London.

Foulds, who was raised by her grandparents, went on to dominate the world stage as a teenager.

In 1950 she won the British 100m title, and later that year won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Brussels.

Two years later she competed in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki where she won bronze in the 4x100m relay, before winning a silver medal in the same race four years later in Melbourne.

She remains the youngest ever champion and medallist in European Championships history.

During the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff she ran a world-record time in the 4×110 yd relay alongside Dorothy Hyman, Madeleine Weston, and Heather Armitage. 

Most recently, she appeared as a guest at the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. 

Outside of athletics, she worked at The Eagle and Lion magazines, performed as a clown in Cottles circus and worked as an air stewardess for British Airways.

During a meet-and-greet event for The Eagle, she met her first husband Raymond Paul, who was an Olympic fencer.

The pair married in 1953 and went on to have three children Steven, Dani and Charlie, before separating. 

Foulds also has two sons James and Luke with her second husband and singer Ronnie Caroll.

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