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{{Short description|British runner (1933–2018)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}

{{Infobox sportsperson
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Diane Leather Charles
| full_name = Diane Leather Charles
| birth_date = {{Birth-date|7 January 1933}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|01|07|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Streetly]], [[Staffordshire]], England
| birth_place = [[Streetly]], Staffordshire, England
| death_date = {{Death-date and age|5 September 2018|7 January 1933}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|09|05|1933|01|07|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Truro]], [[Cornwall]], England
| death_place = [[Truro]], Cornwall, England
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport | Women’s [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]]}}
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport | Women's [[athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country | {{GBR}} }}
{{Medal|Country | {{Flagu|Great Britain}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Championships in Athletics|European Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Championships in Athletics|European Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[1954 European Championships in Athletics|1954 Bern]] | 800 metres}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[1954 European Championships in Athletics|1954 Bern]] | [[1954 European Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres|800 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[1958 European Championships in Athletics|1958 Stockholm]] | 800 metres}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[1958 European Championships in Athletics|1958 Stockholm]] | [[1958 European Athletics Championships – Women's 800 metres|800 metres]]}}
}}
}}


'''Diane Leather Charles''' (7 January 1933 – 5 September 2018) was an English athlete who was the [[Mile run world record progression#Women|first woman to run a sub-5-minute mile]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.athleticsweekly.com/news/mile-legend-diane-leather-dies-1038762/|title=Mile legend Diane Leather dies - Athletics Weekly|date=7 September 2018|work=Athletics Weekly|access-date=8 September 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref>
'''Diane S Leather Charles''' (7 January 1933{{spnd}}5 September 2018) was an English athlete who was the [[Mile run world record progression#Women|first woman to run a sub-5-minute mile]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.athleticsweekly.com/news/mile-legend-diane-leather-dies-1038762/ |title=Mile legend Diane Leather dies - Athletics Weekly |date=7 September 2018 |work=Athletics Weekly |access-date=8 September 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref>


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Leather was born in [[Streetly]], [[Staffordshire]]. She was one of six children, and the only daughter, of Mabel (nee Barringer) and James Leather, a surgeon.<ref name=guardianobit/> She played [[lacrosse]] as a child, however watching the [[1952 Summer Olympics]] sparked her interest in athletics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.runnersworld.co.uk/a-pioneer-of-womens-running-and-the-first-female-to-run-a-sub-five-minute-mile-diane-leather-has-died|title=A pioneer of women's running and the first female to run a sub-five minute mile, Diane Leather, has died - Runner's World|website=www.runnersworld.co.uk|language=en|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> She joined the [[Birchfield Harriers]] club in Birmingham, where she was an analytical chemist at the [[University of Birmingham]], and was coached by [[Doris Nelson Neal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/may/25/diane-leather-world-record-sex-barrier-sixty-years-ago|title=Sixty years ago Diane Leather smashed world record but not sex barrier {{!}} Sean Ingle|last=Ingle|first=Sean|date=25 May 2014|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref>
Leather was born in [[Streetly]], [[Staffordshire]].<ref name=guardianobit/> She was one of six children, and the only daughter, of Mabel (née Barringer) and James Leather, a surgeon.<ref name=guardianobit/> She played [[lacrosse]] as a child, and watching the [[1952 Summer Olympics]] sparked her interest in athletics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.runnersworld.co.uk/a-pioneer-of-womens-running-and-the-first-female-to-run-a-sub-five-minute-mile-diane-leather-has-died |title=A pioneer of women's running and the first female to run a sub-five-minute mile,I Diane Leather, has died - Runner's World |website=www.runnersworld.co.uk |date=7 September 2018 |language=en |access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> While studying chemistry at the Birmingham College of Technology (now [[Aston University]]), she joined the [[Birchfield Harriers]] athletics club in Birmingham and was coached by [[Doris Nelson Neal]].<ref name=wapo/> She later worked as an analytical chemist at the [[University of Birmingham]].<ref name=Ingle>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/may/25/diane-leather-world-record-sex-barrier-sixty-years-ago |title=Sixty years ago Diane Leather smashed world record but not sex barrier {{!}} Sean Ingle|last=Ingle|first=Sean|date=25 May 2014|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref>


== Athletic career ==
== Athletic career ==
Neal saw that Leather had the potential to perform well in longer races, however at the time the longest recognised event in women's athletics was the 200 metre race. Nevertheless she coached Leather for racing the mile and the following year, she broke the world best time, running a mile in 5:02.6. Her achievement was labelled "world best" rather than "world record" by the IAAF as the distance was not officially recognised for a further 15 years
Neal saw that Leather had the potential to perform well in longer races, however at the time the longest recognised event in women's athletics was the 200-metre race. This limit had been adopted after false media reports that six women collapsed at the finish line in an 800-metre race at the 1928 Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-05-14 |title=“Eleven Wretched Women” |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20802639/eleven-wretched-women/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=Runner's World |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jobling |first=Ian |date=2006 |title=The Women’s 800 Metres Track Event Post 1928: Quo Vadis?” |url=https://isoh.org/wp-content/uploads/JOH-Archives/JOHv14n1m.pdf |journal=Journal of Olympic History |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=43-47 |via=International Society of Olympic Historians}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Padnani |first1=Amisha |author-link=Amy Padnani |title=Diane Leather, 85, First Woman to Run Mile in Under 5 Minutes, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/obituaries/diane-leather-dead.html |department=Obituaries |work=The New York Times|access-date=8 July 2019 |date=12 September 2018}}</ref> Nevertheless, Neal coached Leather for racing the mile and the following year, she broke the world best time, running a mile in 5:02.6. Her achievement was labelled "world best" rather than "world record" by the IAAF as the distance was not officially recognised for a further 15 years.


On 29 May 1954, Leather broke the 5-minute barrier with a time of 4 minutes and 59.6 seconds during the Midlands Women's [[AAA Championships]] at [[Birmingham]]'s [[Alexander Sports Ground]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=9168|title=Athletics photographic encyclopedia, athlete, olympic games, world championship, european championship & hero images by|publisher=Sporting-heroes.net|date=|accessdate=17 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics-50-years-ago-roger-bannister-became-a-sporting-legend-with-his-fourminute-mile-why-is-his-female-equivalent-just-seen-as-an-alsoran-560512.html|title=50 Years Ago Roger Bannister Became a Sporting Legend with his Four Minute Mile : Why is his Female Equivalent Just Seen as an Also Ran ?|location=London|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=17 October 2013}}</ref> Coincidentally, it was only 23 days since [[Roger Bannister]] had become the first man to run a sub [[4-minute mile]], 100&nbsp;km away. In 1955, Leather broke the mile record by a further 15 seconds, achieving her personal best of 4:45.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sears|first1=Edward Seldon|title=Running Through the Ages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=7 May 2012|year=2001|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9780786409716|page=283|chapter=The Modern Superstars (1950-2000)|chapterurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA283#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> This remained the world record for seven years until New Zealand's [[Marise Chamberlain]] ran 4:41.4 in 1962.<ref name=":0" />
On 29 May 1954, Leather broke the 5-minute barrier with a time of 4 minutes and 59.6 seconds during the Midlands Women's [[AAA Championships]] at [[Birmingham]]'s [[Alexander Sports Ground]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=9168 |title=Athletics photographic encyclopedia, athlete, olympic games, world championship, european championship & hero images by |publisher=Sporting-heroes.net |access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics-50-years-ago-roger-bannister-became-a-sporting-legend-with-his-fourminute-mile-why-is-his-female-equivalent-just-seen-as-an-alsoran-560512.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412030423/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics-50-years-ago-roger-bannister-became-a-sporting-legend-with-his-fourminute-mile-why-is-his-female-equivalent-just-seen-as-an-alsoran-560512.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 April 2011 |title=50 Years Ago Roger Bannister Became a Sporting Legend with his Four Minute Mile : Why is his Female Equivalent Just Seen as an Also Ran ? |location=London |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> Coincidentally, it was only 23 days since [[Roger Bannister]] had become the first man to run a sub [[4-minute mile]], 100&nbsp;km away. In 1955, Leather broke the mile record by a further 15 seconds, achieving her personal best of 4:45.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sears |first1=Edward Seldon |title=Running Through the Ages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC|year=2001 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=9780786409716 |page=283 |chapter=The Modern Superstars (1950-2000) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC&pg=PA283}}</ref> This remained the world record for seven years until New Zealand's [[Marise Chamberlain]] ran 4:41.4 in 1962.<ref name=":0" />


Leather won two [[European Championships in Athletics|European Championship]] silver medals at 800 metres: at the 1954 event in Bern, she was second behind the Soviet Union's [[Nina Otkalenko]] in 2:09.8, while at the 1958 event in Stockholm, she was second to another Soviet, Yelizaveta Yermolayeva, running 2:06.6. She was also a two-time winner of the women's race at the [[International Cross Country Championships]] in 1954 and 1955, and won the national cross country women's title four times.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ixc.htm International Cross Country Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 3 April 2015.</ref>
Leather won two [[European Championships in Athletics|European Championship]] silver medals at 800 metres: at the 1954 event in Bern, she was second behind the Soviet Union's [[Nina Otkalenko]] in 2:09.8, while at the 1958 event in Stockholm, she was second to another Soviet, [[Yelizaveta Yermolayeva]], running 2:06.6. She was also a two-time winner of the women's race at the [[International Cross Country Championships]] in 1954 and 1955, and won the national cross country women's title four times.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ixc.htm International Cross Country Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 3 April 2015.</ref>


She married Peter Charles, an industrial engineer turned financial consultant, in 1959, and competed in her final competition, the [[1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome, as Diana Charles.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/diane-charles-1.html |title=Diane Charles Olympic Results |accessdate=16 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=wapo>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/diane-leather-first-woman-to-run-a-mile-in-under-five-minutes-dies-at-85/2018/09/13/e8cb2854-b75f-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html Diane Leather, first woman to run a mile in under five minutes, dies at 85] ''Washington Post''</ref> She was eliminated in the heats of the 800 metres, in 2:14.24. She held the British record for 1500m for 11 years and held claim to the world mark in the mile for 8 years in total.
She married Peter Charles, an industrial engineer turned financial consultant, in 1959, and competed in her final competition, the [[Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres|1960 Summer Olympics]] in Rome, as Diane Charles.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/diane-charles-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418042810/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/diane-charles-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Diane Charles Olympic Results |accessdate=16 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=wapo>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Harrison |date=13 September 2018 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/diane-leather-first-woman-to-run-a-mile-in-under-five-minutes-dies-at-85/2018/09/13/e8cb2854-b75f-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html |title=Diane Leather, first woman to run a mile in under five minutes, dies at 85 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> She was eliminated in the heats of the 800 metres, in 2:14.24. She held the British record for 1500m for 11 years and held claim to the world mark in the mile for 8 years in total.


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Charles retired from athletics at the age of 27, and lived in [[Cornwall]] for the remainder of her life.<ref name=":0"/> She worked for child protection agencies and was a volunteer for [[Cruse Bereavement Care]] and [[Samaritans (charity)|Samaritans]].<ref name=guardianobit>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/14/diane-leather-obituary Diane Leather obituary] ''The Guardian''</ref> She was married for more than 55 years—her husband died in 2017<ref name=wapo/>—and had four children and 13 grandchildren.<ref name="rw85">{{Cite news|url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a23025054/diane-leather-charles-dies-at-85|title=Diane Leather Charles, First Woman to Break 5-Minute Mile, Dies at 85|last=Robinson|first=Roger|work=Runner's World|date=7 September 2018|access-date=9 September 2018}}</ref> She died on 5 September 2018,<ref name=guardianobit/> aged 85,<ref name=":1"/><ref name="rw85"/> in [[Truro]], Cornwall. She had recently suffered a [[stroke]].<ref name=wapo/>
Charles retired from athletics at the age of 27 and lived in [[Cornwall]] for the remainder of her life.<ref name=":0"/> She worked for child protection agencies and was a volunteer for [[Cruse Bereavement Care]] and [[Samaritans (charity)|Samaritans]].<ref name=guardianobit>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/14/diane-leather-obituary Diane Leather obituary] ''The Guardian''</ref> She was married for more than 55 years—her husband died in 2017<ref name=wapo/>—and had four children and 13 grandchildren.<ref name="rw85">{{Cite news |url=https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a23025054/diane-leather-charles-dies-at-85 |title=Diane Leather Charles, First Woman to Break 5-Minute Mile, Dies at 85 |last=Robinson |first=Roger |work=Runner's World |date=7 September 2018 |access-date=9 September 2018}}</ref> She died on 5 September 2018,<ref name=guardianobit/> aged 85,<ref name=":1"/><ref name="rw85"/> in [[Truro]], Cornwall. She had recently suffered a [[stroke]].<ref name=wapo/>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{sports links}}
* [http://www.uka.org.uk/e-inspire/hall-of-fame-athletes/diane-leather/ Profile at UK Athletics]
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=31891 "Almost the 5 Minute Mile"] Pathe newsreel featuring Leather, 31 May 1954
* [https://www.britishpathe.com/video/almost-the-5-minute-mile/ "Almost the 5 Minute Mile"] Pathe newsreel featuring Leather, 31 May 1954


{{S-start}}
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{{Footer International Cross Country Champions Women}}
{{S-ach | rec}}
{{s-bef | before = [[Anne Oliver]]}}
{{s-ttl | rows = 2 | title = [[Mile run world record progression|Women's mile world record holder]]|years = 30 September 1953 – 1 November 1953<br>26 May 1954 – 8 December 1962}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Edith Treybal]]}}
{{s-bef | before = Edith Treybal}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Marise Chamberlain]]}}
{{S-end}}


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{{Footer International Cross Country Champions Women}}
{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}


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[[Category:Sportspeople from Staffordshire]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Staffordshire]]
[[Category:English female middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:English female middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:British female middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:Birchfield Harriers]]
[[Category:Birchfield Harriers]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European Athletics Championships medalists]]
[[Category:International Cross Country Championships winners]]
[[Category:International Cross Country Championships winners]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain]]

Latest revision as of 00:56, 3 May 2024

Diane Leather
Personal information
Full nameDiane Leather Charles
Born(1933-01-07)7 January 1933
Streetly, Staffordshire, England
Died5 September 2018(2018-09-05) (aged 85)
Truro, Cornwall, England
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1954 Bern 800 metres
Silver medal – second place 1958 Stockholm 800 metres

Diane S Leather Charles (7 January 1933 – 5 September 2018) was an English athlete who was the first woman to run a sub-5-minute mile.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Leather was born in Streetly, Staffordshire.[2] She was one of six children, and the only daughter, of Mabel (née Barringer) and James Leather, a surgeon.[2] She played lacrosse as a child, and watching the 1952 Summer Olympics sparked her interest in athletics.[3] While studying chemistry at the Birmingham College of Technology (now Aston University), she joined the Birchfield Harriers athletics club in Birmingham and was coached by Doris Nelson Neal.[4] She later worked as an analytical chemist at the University of Birmingham.[5]

Athletic career

[edit]

Neal saw that Leather had the potential to perform well in longer races, however at the time the longest recognised event in women's athletics was the 200-metre race. This limit had been adopted after false media reports that six women collapsed at the finish line in an 800-metre race at the 1928 Olympics.[6][7][8] Nevertheless, Neal coached Leather for racing the mile and the following year, she broke the world best time, running a mile in 5:02.6. Her achievement was labelled "world best" rather than "world record" by the IAAF as the distance was not officially recognised for a further 15 years.

On 29 May 1954, Leather broke the 5-minute barrier with a time of 4 minutes and 59.6 seconds during the Midlands Women's AAA Championships at Birmingham's Alexander Sports Ground.[9][10] Coincidentally, it was only 23 days since Roger Bannister had become the first man to run a sub 4-minute mile, 100 km away. In 1955, Leather broke the mile record by a further 15 seconds, achieving her personal best of 4:45.[11] This remained the world record for seven years until New Zealand's Marise Chamberlain ran 4:41.4 in 1962.[3]

Leather won two European Championship silver medals at 800 metres: at the 1954 event in Bern, she was second behind the Soviet Union's Nina Otkalenko in 2:09.8, while at the 1958 event in Stockholm, she was second to another Soviet, Yelizaveta Yermolayeva, running 2:06.6. She was also a two-time winner of the women's race at the International Cross Country Championships in 1954 and 1955, and won the national cross country women's title four times.[3][12]

She married Peter Charles, an industrial engineer turned financial consultant, in 1959, and competed in her final competition, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, as Diane Charles.[13][4] She was eliminated in the heats of the 800 metres, in 2:14.24. She held the British record for 1500m for 11 years and held claim to the world mark in the mile for 8 years in total.

Personal life

[edit]

Charles retired from athletics at the age of 27 and lived in Cornwall for the remainder of her life.[3] She worked for child protection agencies and was a volunteer for Cruse Bereavement Care and Samaritans.[2] She was married for more than 55 years—her husband died in 2017[4]—and had four children and 13 grandchildren.[14] She died on 5 September 2018,[2] aged 85,[1][14] in Truro, Cornwall. She had recently suffered a stroke.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Mile legend Diane Leather dies - Athletics Weekly". Athletics Weekly. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Diane Leather obituary The Guardian
  3. ^ a b c d "A pioneer of women's running and the first female to run a sub-five-minute mile,I Diane Leather, has died - Runner's World". www.runnersworld.co.uk. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Smith, Harrison (13 September 2018). "Diane Leather, first woman to run a mile in under five minutes, dies at 85". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Ingle, Sean (25 May 2014). "Sixty years ago Diane Leather smashed world record but not sex barrier | Sean Ingle". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. ^ ""Eleven Wretched Women"". Runner's World. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. ^ Jobling, Ian (2006). "The Women's 800 Metres Track Event Post 1928: Quo Vadis?"" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. 14 (1): 43–47 – via International Society of Olympic Historians.
  8. ^ Padnani, Amisha (12 September 2018). "Diane Leather, 85, First Woman to Run Mile in Under 5 Minutes, Dies". Obituaries. The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Athletics photographic encyclopedia, athlete, olympic games, world championship, european championship & hero images by". Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  10. ^ "50 Years Ago Roger Bannister Became a Sporting Legend with his Four Minute Mile : Why is his Female Equivalent Just Seen as an Also Ran ?". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  11. ^ Sears, Edward Seldon (2001). "The Modern Superstars (1950-2000)". Running Through the Ages. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 283. ISBN 9780786409716.
  12. ^ International Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 3 April 2015.
  13. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Diane Charles Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b Robinson, Roger (7 September 2018). "Diane Leather Charles, First Woman to Break 5-Minute Mile, Dies at 85". Runner's World. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
[edit]
Records
Preceded by Women's mile world record holder
30 September 1953 – 1 November 1953
26 May 1954 – 8 December 1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Edith Treybal
 Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diane_Leather&oldid=1221957924"