Although she died less than a month after her 22nd birthday, Lillian Board had a superb record for Britain at major championships. A versatile runner, she represented Britain internationally at every distance from 100 to 800 metres and when she died, was second on the UK list at 1,500 metres. After her 1968 Olympic silver medal over 400 metres, in 1969, at the European Championships, she won the 800 metres and anchored the winning British 4×400 relay team in a world record time. In that year, she also ran on world record setting relays in the 4×110y and 4×880y. In 1970, Board contributed to a British world-record in the 4×800, while preparing for the Commonwealth Games. But at that meet she was beginning to have abdominal pains and she had to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games. Shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with stomach cancer and she died less than 20 months later, just after receiving the MBE. She was called the “Golden Girl” of British athletics.
Personal Bests: 100 – 11.9 (1969); 200 – 23.52 (1968); 400 – 52.12 (1968).
Great Britain