Shirley Strong


Shirley Elaine Holloway is a British former athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres hurdles. In this event, she won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a gold medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and a silver medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. She also held the British record from 1980 to 1988.

Personal life

Strong was born in Cuddington, Cheshire and remained in the village throughout her career. She has two daughters with husband Roland Holloway, and lives in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.

Career

Strong began her national career in 1977 with second placings in the 100 metres hurdles at both the AAA Championships and the UK Athletics Championships, achieving second place again in 1978 at both championships. Between 1979 and 1984 she won six consecutive golds at the AAA Championships and was UK Champion in 1979, 1980 and 1983. She studied at Northwich Grammar School For Girls, now known as The County High School, Leftwich.
Strong's first major championship was the 1978 Commonwealth Games, in Edmonton, Canada where she got the silver medal. She went on to improve on that in the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane Australia, by getting the gold medal.
Strong achieved a creditable fifth place at the 1983 World Championships with a wind-assisted time of 12.78 seconds, Great Britain's highest placing in the event until Tiffany Porter finished in fourth place in 2011.
With the eastern European countries absent through boycott at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Strong went into the 100 metres hurdles event as favourite. However, in the final Benita Fitzgerald-Brown of the United States ran the race of her life to take gold in 12.84 seconds, 0.04 seconds faster than the Briton.
In the years following Los Angeles, Strong was frequently troubled by problems with her achilles tendon and failed to qualify for the 1986 Commonwealth Games. She did earn selection for the European Championships later that year, but withdrew from the team. After competing in the 1987 indoor season she retired from athletics.

Popularity

At the height of her career Strong was among the most popular athletes in the UK among a public who regarded her as "one of us", and even admitted to having an occasional cigarette after a race.

Personal bests

Note: Strong twice ran 12.78sec, first in Brisbane with a following wind of +4.5, then in Helsinki with a following wind of +2.4. Any performance achieved with a following wind of more than +2.0 m/s is regarded as wind-assisted and does not count for record purposes.

Achievements