Peter Gabbett

Peter Gabbett

Peter John Gabbett (born 19 November 1941) is a former holder of the British record for the decathlon. He is widely regarded as the first British decathlete to achieve world class performances in this event. He won the AAA Championships on three occasions, finished second in the 1970 Commonwealth Games, was sixth in the European Championships, and twice competed in the Olympic Games. He improved the British Decathlon record four times, two of these were also Commonwealth Records, bringing it close to the 8,000 points mark. At an unofficial meeting at Alan Hancock College, Santa Maria, California in May 1972 he became the first British decathlete to score over 8,000 points in a decathlon though the circumstances of this performance invalidated it for record purposes. He was a Naval Air Mechanic in the Royal Navy, and married to Angela D Gabbett. During his athletic career he made his home in Portsmouth, England. On retiring from the Fleet Air Arm he established a career in shipping and forwarding and now has an Independent Financial Advisory consultancy and now resides in Buckinghamshire.