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Keith Connor

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Keith Connor
Personal information
NationalityBritish/Anguillian
Born (1957-09-16) 16 September 1957 (age 67)
South Hill, Anguilla
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Eventtriple jump
ClubWolverhampton & Bilston AC
Windsor, Slough & Eton AC
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Los Angeles Triple jump
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1982 Athens triple jump
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1978 Edmonton triple jump
Gold medal – first place 1982 Brisbane triple jump

Keith Leroy Connor (born 16 September 1957 in Anguilla, an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom) is a male retired athlete who represented Great Britain and England. He competed in the triple jump at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1984 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography

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Athletics career

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Connor migrated with his parents to Great Britain in 1964.[citation needed] He went on to represent Great Britain as an athlete.

Connor finished second behind Aston Moore in the triple jump event at both the 1976 AAA Championships[2] and the 1978 AAA Championships.[3] Despite being beaten by Moore at the AAAs, he gained revenge by winning the gold medal for England in the triple jump event, at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada, with Moore taking the bronze.[4]

Connor finally became the British triple jump champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1979 AAA Championships.[5] The following year at the 1980 Olympics Games in Moscow, he represented Great Britain, finishing just outside the medals in fourth place.[1]

Two years later he won the triple jump gold again when he represented England, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia.[6][7] He then won the 1982 European Athletics Championships gold and a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[8]

Connor attended the University of Texas at El Paso in the USA from 1978 to 1980 and later transferred the Southern Methodist University (SMU) where he competed with distinction in the US national collegiate (NCAA). [1].

Coaching career

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He retired from active competition in 1984 due to injury and began an illustrious career as a coach and sports administrator. Connor was appointed head coach at the New South Wales Institute of Sport in 1990, after spending several years coaching on the American college scene following his retirement from competition. He was credited with helping Australian athletes to win medals at the Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney Olympics due to his work in revamping the New South Wales Institute of Sport. Following his successes at NSW Institute of Sport, Connor was given the appointed as head coach of Athletics Australia in 2001.

The Australian press has described him, admiringly, as a hard-nosed disciplinarian. Herb Elliott, chairman of an Australian Sports Commission review of the sport, said: "There is a view that he has moved the sport forward. He's had to take some very tough action. As a consequence, he's rubbed a few people up the wrong way and some are against him… but he's done an excellent job." In 2006 Keith was turned down for the job of Head Coach to British Athletics Board although he was regarded by most as the best candidate. This was his second rejection by BAB the first being in 1990. Allegations of racism surrounded his rejection.

Personal life

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Since the expiration of his contract in 2006 Keith has been a Sport Consultant to national associations, sporting bodies, sponsors and individuals.[citation needed]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Great Britain
1978 European Indoor Championships Milan, Italy 2nd Triple jump 16.53 m
Commonwealth Games Edmonton, Canada 1st Triple jump 17.21 m w
1982 European Championships Athens, Greece 1st Triple jump 17.29 m
Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 1st Triple jump 17.81 m w
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 15th (q) Triple Jump 16.18 m
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 3rd Triple jump 16.87 m

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Weekend sport". Birmingham Daily Post. 16 August 1976. Retrieved 7 June 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  4. ^ "1978 Athletes". Team England.
  5. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  6. ^ "1982 Athletes". Team England.
  7. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Keith Connor". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
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