After her mother gave up on her when she was a young girl, the British javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread had a troubled upbringing. She eventually resigned from the sport. Following that, she was forced to spend the most of her childhood in various care institutions.
She began throwing the javelin when she was 11 years old, and later Margaret Whitbread became her coach. Margaret Whitbread, a former athlete, went on to become a national javelin champion as well as a coach.
Fatima was the first British athlete to ever establish a world record in a throwing event, and she did so while she was competing in Stuttgart to win the European Athletics Championships. In addition to this, she is a two-time Olympic medal winner, having earned the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in 1984 and the silver medal at the Summer Olympics in 1988.
She was only 18 years old when she won the gold medal in the European Athletics Junior Championships in 1979. Tessa Sanderson, a fellow British javelin athlete, was one of her most prominent competitors throughout the course of her career.
Who Exactly Were the Real Parents of Fatima Whitbread?
Fatima Whitbread was born in London to parents of Cypriot descent, but they are no longer involved in any aspect of her life. Margaret Whitbread and her husband became her adoptive parents when the child’s biological mother abandoned her.
She was forced to spend the majority of her youth in several separate homes for children after her abusive mother abandoned her.
During the course of one of the interviews, she disclosed the fact that she was staying by herself in a flat in London. After some time had passed, a neighbor called the police after hearing a baby sobbing inside the apartment when no one was entering or leaving the building.
She was fortunate enough to be saved by the police, who then transported her to the hospital, where she remained for a period of six months. After that, she was locked up for the next 14 years in an institution for abused and neglected children.
What Ethnic Group Did Fatima Whitbread’s Parents Belong To?
Fatima Whitbread’s natal father was of Greek Cypriot descent, while her biological mother was of Turkish Cypriot descent.
Fatima is the first person from the United Kingdom, in any category, to set a new world record in javelin throwing. Fatima has never returned to her native land, and despite this, she was victorious at the 1987 World Championships.
Fatima has never been in contact with either her biological mother or her father, who both neglected and abused her as a child. After some time had passed, Margaret Whitbread’s family decided to adopt her and start a new life for her.
That is the man who is married to Fatima Whitbread?
Between the years 1997 and 2006, Fatima Whitbread was married to her husband, Andrew Norman. They divorced in 2006, and he passed away due to a heart attack in 2007, exactly one year after their divorce was finalized.
They tied the knot in 1997 and remained together till they divorced in 2006. The British Athletic Federation formerly appointed him to the position of promotional director.
In the early 1990s, Norman was embroiled in scandal, which ultimately led to the termination of his employment. It is alleged that he exerted pressure on Mr. Temple to discourage him from pursuing a story that was negative of Mr. Norman’s girlfriend.
Despite this, Norman refuted all of the charges at the time, stating that Cliff was a friend of his for a long time.
An Inside Look at the Career of Fatima Whitbread
In 1977, Fatima Whitbread began her professional athletics career by claiming the intermediate title at the English Schools’ Athletics Championships. In the process of winning the women’s Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) title, she also established a national intermediate mark with a throw of 158 feet, 5 inches (48.28 meters).
In the qualifying round of the 1986 European Championships, Fatima threw the javelin 77.44 meters, which was far enough to break the previous world mark. That is two meters longer than the previous record, which was established by Petra Felke of East Germany just one year earlier.
Later on in her career, she suffered from a shoulder problem that lasted a long time, which was allegedly caused by the world record throw she made in 1986. Her final competition was the 1990 UK Athletics Championships. Prior to then, she had not competed in any other events.
Career
Early Career
Whitbread set a national intermediate record of 158 ft 5 in (48.28 m) while winning the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) women’s championship the following month.[9] She finished sixth in the javelin throw at the 1978 Commonwealth Games after throwing 49.16 m (161 ft 3+14 in), the event record. Whitbread won the intermediate title at the English Schools’ Athletics Championships in 1977. She threw 58.20 m (190 ft 11+1/4 in) for gold in the javelin competition at the 1979 European Athletics Junior Championships. She was chosen to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics event, however her distance of only 49.74 m (163 ft 2+1/4 in) prevented her from making it to the final. Whitbread won the gold medal in the shot put at the 1982 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 58.86 m (193 ft 1+1/4 in), finishing 5.6 m (18 ft 4+1/4 in) behind Australian winner Sue Howland.
Whitbread trailed fellow British competitor Tessa Sanderson for 18 consecutive competitions before edging her out with a throw of 203 ft 1012 in (62.14 m) to win the UK Athletics Championship in 1983. Whitbread narrowly qualified for the final and went on to win the silver medal at the first World Championships in 1983. She held the lead throughout the competition until Tiina Lillak improved her mark with her final throw. With a distance of 67.14 meters (220 feet 3+1/4 inches), Whitbread earned the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics while Sanderson won the gold with a distance of 69.56 meters (228 feet 2+12 inches). Lillak, who had a stress fracture in her right foot, took home the silver. At the 1986 Commonwealth Games in July, Whitbread broke the Games record twice during her first three throws, and she led with a distance of 68.54 m (224 ft 10+1/4 in), before Sanderson achieved 69.80 m (229 ft 0 in) and won. After the outcome, Whitbread said, “I am so disappointed… I was not right on the night.” After the outcome, Whitbread sobbed on the field for around 30 minutes. Sanderson, who had finished behind Whitbread in all seven of their post-1984 Olympics meetings prior to the Games, said “I don’t mind losing to Fatima in the smaller competitions, but not in the big ones.” After the medal ceremony, she said, still visibly upset: “12 years of hard work. Still no [gold] medal… I’ve waited two long years since [the 1984 Summer Olympics]. And now I’m humiliated.”
Victory in the European and World Championships and a world record
Whitbread surpassed Petra Felke of East Germany’s previous record by more than 2 meters the following month when she threw the javelin 77.44 meters in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Championships. She was the first sportsperson from Britain to break a world record in a throwing competition. After Felke took the lead for the first three rounds, Whitbread won her first major championship gold with throws of 72.68 meters in the fourth round and 73.68 meters in the fifth (the second-longest throw by a woman in history). “All the years of training had finally come to something,” Whitbread later said, “I went on my lap of honor… Spontaneously, I shook my hips in ecstasy, a victory wiggle.”: 168
In second place behind Felke, Whitbread earned a spot in the 1987 World Championships final. She defeated Felke to claim the title with a throw that ranked third in history at 76.64 meters. Sanderson came in at fourth. After overcoming Felke in the World and European competition, she was noted for her joyful wiggles in the UK. In 1987, she was chosen as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner. She has added the “Whitbread wiggle” to that rehearsed smile, according to David Powell in The Times. She is successful in giving personality to her event, much like Willie Banks did with the triple leap.
Later Career
Whitbread experienced a number of illnesses in the months prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, including a shoulder injury, boils, glandular fever, and gum issues. Whitbread, who finished in second place to Felke, with a throw that was better than her season average but almost four meters shorter than her opponent. If I had to be defeated, Whitbread said, “I’m glad Petra did it.”
A chronic shoulder ailment, which Whitbread believed stemmed from her world record throw in 1986, had an impact on her later career. Her final competition involved the 1990 UK Athletics Championships, where she again had another shoulder problem. She officially ended her competitive career in 1992.
Rivalry with Tessa Sanderson
Whitbread and Sanderson’s “hate-hate relationship has been one of the most persistent in British sport,” according to Alan Hubbard, who stated this in a 1990 story in The Observer. It lasted for almost a decade. The Sanderson-Whitbread feud is undoubtedly one of the most magnificent in sports, as stated by Matthew Engel in The Guardian that same year, and by Tom Lamont in the same publication 29 years later: “Whitbread and Sanderson were always uneasy rivals and the enmity that developed during their overlapping careers became as famous as their achievements, and seems to survive in their retirement.” Hubbard cited Sanderson’s belief that Whitbread received preferential treatment. Whitbread and her mother knew Andy Norman, the Board’s promotions officer who was responsible for determining the costs for British athletes. When her daughter was frequently competing in international competitions in 1985, as opposed to just one during Sanderson’s season up to June of that year, Margaret Whitbread was also the national coach for women’s javelin. Sanderson vowed to boycott sporting competitions in 1987 because Whitbread paid her $10,000 but British Athletics only paid her £1,000 each. In addition, Sanderson felt that the Whitbreads should have sponsored British athletes rather than Australian athlete Howland, who raced at the 1990 Commonwealth Games following a two-year doping prohibition.
Sanderson earned an Olympic gold medal and three Commonwealth golds during his career, while Whitbread won one global title and one European title. Overall, Sanderson outperformed Whitbread in 27 of the 45 competitions in which they competed against one another, however Whitbread outperformed Sanderson from 1984 through 1987.