Lillian Board

Lillian Board 1968

Lillian Barbara Board (born December 13, 1948 in Durban , South Africa, † December 26, 1970 in Munich ) was a British 400-meter runner and middle-distance runner .

Lillian Board won the silver medal in the 400-meter run at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico, behind Colette Besson (FRA) and ahead of Natalja Pechonkina (URS). There she ran the British record with a time of 52.12 s. At the European Championships in Athens in 1969 , she won a gold medal both over 800 meters and with the 4 x 400 meter relay . Her appearance as the final runner of the British season in a duel with the French season, whose final runner was the 1968 Olympic champion, Colette Besson, will not be forgotten. She practically caught them on the finish line. Both seasons ran a new world record in a time of 3: 30.8 minutes. It should be one of her last major international appearances.

In 1970 she was in severe health problems and plagued by stomach pains. She ran her last race in London in June 1970 over 800 meters, but then had to stop training and racing due to increasing health problems. In the autumn she consulted Josef Issels , who diagnosed an inoperable stomach cancer. On November 7, 1970, she went to Issels' Ringberg Clinic in Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee for treatment, but her condition worsened. Lillian Board died at Christmas 1970 at the age of 22 in the University of Munich Hospital .

The Lillian-Board-Weg in the Olympiapark Munich was named after her.

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personal data
SURNAME	Board, Lillian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Board, Lillian Barbara (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British sprinter, middle distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH	December 13, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Durban
DATE OF DEATH	December 26, 1970
Place of death	Munich