John Morbey

Long jumper John Morbey had a great chance to break the domination of Lynn Davies in the early-1960s. Davis snatched the AAA indoor title from Morbey in 1963, with both men leaping 7.48. Shortly after that, Morbey emigrated to take up the post as a PE and geography teacher at the Dallwood School, Hamilton, Bermuda, and that left the door open for Davies to continue his domination of the event.

Morbey returned to the UK in 1964 to compete in the AAAs and finished second to Davies by 16 centimetres, with the defending champion Fred Alsop in third place. Davies and Morbey did battle again at the Tokyo Olympics, and while Davies won gold, Morbey could only finish 11th out of 12 with a jump of 7.09 in awful conditions. Being a good sprinter (he once ran the 100 yards in 9.7), Morbey was a reserve for the GB sprint relay squad at Tokyo.

Morbey´s interest in competitive sport started while he was at the Central Grammar School in Birmingham. While he excelled at athletics, his first choice of sport was rugby, and he once took part in an English Schoolboys trial. A call-up for the England athletics team against Norway when he was 19, however, saw him switch his sporting allegiance.

Morbey first started teaching at a college in Winchester before a year at Loughborough College, where he improved his long jumping technique. Morbey was made England athletics captain in 1963 shortly before his move to Bermuda. One of Mirbey´s finest moments was in 1964 when he when he third in the US National Indoor Championships at Madison Square Garden behind Charles Mays and Ralph Boston.

Because of his new residency status, Morbey represented Bermuda at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Kingston, Jamaica, and the rivalry with Lynn Davies was renewed. Once again it was the Welshman who gained the upper hand by taking gold with Morbey winning silver with a 7.89 to Davies´ 7.99. Morbey went to his second Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh in 1986 as the Bermuda team manager. In a Games dominated by boycotting nations, however, Bermuda took part in the opening ceremony before the Bermuda Olympic Association pulled them out and the eight-strong team never competed, including Morbey´s son, 17-year-old swimmer Craig.

Personal Best: LJ – 7.89 (1966).