Diane Leather Charles, who in 1954 was the first woman in the world to break five minutes for the mile, died on September 6 in England. She was 85.
The passing of one of Britain’s greatest pioneers in the sport brought a somber note to the celebrations of women’s running at the massive Great North Run (57,000 entrants for Sunday’s half marathon), being held to mark 100 years of women getting the right to vote in the U.K. A BBC gala television show of September 7 will give running a prominent place in the history of women’s rights and progress in the U.K.
Guest celebrities Mo Farah, Kathrine Switzer, and 2018 European 1500 meter champion Laura Muir all paid tribute to Leather Charles as an inspiration since 1954. Leather Charles won the European 800 meter silver medal in the days before there was any longer event for women.
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“I had no idea that I would ever be called a pioneer,” Leather Charles said in her Hero of Running feature.
On the same day she broke five minutes at the women’s track and field championships in Birmingham, Leather Charles set the British record for the 880 yards. When she ran the mile later that day, her splits were wildly uneven, yet with a final surge she dipped under five minutes, with four-tenths of a second to spare and half a lap clear of her closest competitor.
Charles broke the mile record four more times, culminating in a 4:45 in 1955. She set three ratified world records in the 880 yards, and won silver twice in the 800 meters at the European championships.
She retired at the age of 27 and went on to teach, do social work, and raise four children. She lived with her husband for more than 55 years in a remote corner of Cornwall.
Roger Robinson is a highly-regarded writer and historian and author of seven books on running. His recent Running Throughout Time: the Greatest Running Stories Ever Told We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back Running Times and is a frequent Runner’s World contributor, admired for his insightful obituaries. A lifetime elite runner, he represented England and New Zealand at the world level, set age-group marathon records in Boston and New York, and now runs top 80-plus times on two knee replacements. He is Emeritus Professor of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and is married to women’s running pioneer Kathrine Switzer.
