It is with great regret we, rather belatedly, have to report the death of one of the Greatest ever Sussex athletes.
In July 2017 we lost the Sussex women’s shot putt record holder Suzanne Allday, nee Farmer and latterly Goddison.
As Suzanne Farmer, a member of the then Brighton Ladies Athletic Club, she won the English Schools intermediate discus title in 1950 and retained the title in 1951 at the start of a most impressive international athletics career.
She competed in 35 internationals for Great Britain and England in both Shot and Discus including three Olympic Games in 1952, 1960 and 1964, the European Games of 1958 and 1962 and the Commonwealth Games of 1954, 1958 and 1962 and for many years she was the most decorated British women athlete.
She virtually dominated Discus and Shot events in the fifties and sixties including breaking the British Discus record ten times and the Shot record eight times.
She held the Sussex discus record at 47.70m, until Claire Smithson (Brighton & Hove) broke it in 2004 and she still holds the shot putt record at 15.18m from 1964, the oldest record on the books.
She is also the Sussex athlete with the most international appearances to their name.
As her children grew up, one boy and one girl, she came out of retirement and was highly successful for the Brighton & Hove team in their Southern Women’s League team.
If you have any queries or want more information regarding this post, please Email Reg Hook.