Shirley Thomas (born 15 June 1963) is a retired British sprinter who competed mainly in the 100m and 4x100m relay. Her best result was a silver medal in the very first World Championship sprint relay final, anchoring the team that also included Joan Baptiste, Kathy Cook, and Beverley Callender. The British team held the lead into the last changeover but was overtaken by the East German team, led by the newly crowned 100m World Champion Marlies Göhr. The British time of 42.71 was just 0.02 ahead of the fast-finishing Jamaican team. Thomas had also helped the British team achieve a silver medal at the European Championships the year before.
At the time, Thomas weighed 48 kg and was 1.6 m tall.
Shirley Thomas' achievements occurred during the so-called Golden Era of British women's sprinting, made all the more remarkable as many of their rivals were on performance-enhancing drug programs.
Championship Results
Famous quotes containing the words shirley and/or thomas:
“Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.”
—James Shirley (1596–1666)
“Under the heavens that know not what years be
The men, the beasts, the trees, the implements
Uttered even what they will in times far hence—
All of us gone out of the reach of change—
Immortal in a picture of an old grange.”
—Edward Thomas (1878–1917)