# Alan Paterson > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alan_Paterson > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alan_Paterson.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Paterson > Source revision: 1338301258 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British high jumper (1928–1999)}} {{about||the New Zealand cartoonist and curator|Alan Stuart Paterson|the British Olympic sprinter|Alan Patterson (athlete)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Alan Paterson | image = Alan Sinclair Paterson (6a).jpg | alt = | caption = Paterson in 1945, aged 17 | headercolor = lightsteelblue | nationality = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1928|06|11}} | birth_place = [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow), Scotland | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1999|05|08|1928|06|11}} | death_place = [Port Credit](/source/Port_Credit), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Canada | years_active = 1944–1952 | sport = [Track and field](/source/Track_and_field) | event = [High jump](/source/High_jump) | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's [athletics](/source/Athletics_(sport))}} {{Medal|Country|{{GBR2}}}} {{Medal|Competition|[European Championships](/source/European_Athletics_Championships)}} {{Medal|Gold |[1950 Brussels](/source/1950_European_Athletics_Championships)|[High jump](/source/1950_European_Athletics_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump)}} {{Medal|Silver |[1946 Oslo](/source/1946_European_Athletics_Championships)|[High jump](/source/1946_European_Athletics_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump)}} {{Medal|Country|{{SCO}}}} {{Medal|Competition|[British Empire Games](/source/British_Empire_Games)}} {{Medal|Silver |[1950 Auckland](/source/1950_British_Empire_Games)|[High jump](/source/Athletics_at_the_1950_British_Empire_Games)}} }} '''Alan Sinclair Paterson''' (11 June 1928 – 8 May 1999) was a British [track and field](/source/track_and_field) athlete who competed in the [high jump](/source/high_jump). He was one of Europe's best high jumpers during the immediate post-World War II period. He was the champion at the [European Athletics Championships](/source/European_Athletics_Championships) in 1950 and was also silver medallist at the 1946 event. He won a silver medal for Scotland at the [1950 British Empire Games](/source/1950_British_Empire_Games). He was a two-time Olympic finalist in the event, having competed at the [1948 London Olympics](/source/1948_London_Olympics) and the [1952 Helsinki Olympics](/source/1952_Helsinki_Olympics). His personal best of {{T&Fcalc|2.02}} was a [British record](/source/British_records_in_athletics) at the time and he was a three-time champion at the [AAA Championships](/source/AAA_Championships). == Biography == Born in [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow),{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pa/alan-paterson-1.html |title=Alan Paterson |access-date=18 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923043601/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pa/alan-paterson-1.html |archive-date=23 September 2013}} he rose to the top of the national scene by winning the 1946 [Amateur Athletic Association](/source/Amateur_Athletic_Association) junior title in {{T&Fcalc|1.89}} before taking the senior title at the [1946 AAA Championships](/source/1946_AAA_Championships).{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19460720/064/0004 |title=Swede first to win AAA title |work=Daily Herald |date=20 July 1946 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=7 April 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003214/19460722/122/0004 |title=AAA results |work=Daily News (London) |date=22 July 1946 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=7 April 2025}}[http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/bc3.htm BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1945-1959]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014. He was chosen to represent Great Britain at the [1946 European Athletics Championships](/source/1946_European_Athletics_Championships) in August and claimed the silver medal after a personal best jump of {{T&Fcalc|1.96}}, finishing behind Sweden's [Anton Bolinder](/source/Anton_Bolinder).[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ec.htm European Championships (Men)]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 18 October 2014. This made the 18-year-old Paterson the youngest ever medallist at the championships.Peter Matthews, Ian Buchanan: All-Time Greats of British and Irish Sport, Enfield 1995 {{ISBN|0-85112-678-2}} [Adegboyega Adedoyin](/source/Adegboyega_Adedoyin) was the winner at the national championships in 1947, but Paterson set a [British record](/source/British_records_in_athletics) in Glasgow that year with a clearance of {{T&Fcalc|2.02}} – a mark that ranked him third in the world that season and was the best of his career.Janusz Waśko, Andrzej Socha: Athletics National Records Evolution 1912 – 2006. Zamość - Sandomierz: 2007[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=5122&Gender=M Alan Paterson]. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved 18 October 2014. Paterson was again beaten by a foreigner at the 1948 AAA championships, this time by Australian [John Winter](/source/John_Winter_(athlete)). He contested Winter again at the [1948 Summer Olympics](/source/Athletics_at_the_1948_Summer_Olympics) in [London](/source/London) and the Australian came out on top with the gold medal while Paterson was the home nation's best performer in seventh place with {{T&Fcalc|1.90}}. With eight other jumpers achieving the same height, his placing was decided on count-back – the first time the rule, which takes into account previous missed heights, was used in Olympic competition.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1948/ATH/mens-high-jump.html |title=Athletics at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's High Jump |access-date=18 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015031009/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1948/ATH/mens-high-jump.html |archive-date=15 October 2014}} He won his second and third AAA national titles in 1949 and 1950. He reached the top of the continental scene at the [1950 European Athletics Championships](/source/1950_European_Athletics_Championships), going one better than his previous outing to take the gold medal with a clearance of {{T&Fcalc|1.96}}. He prevented runner-up [Arne Åhman](/source/Arne_%C3%85hman) from extending Sweden's unbeaten run since 1938 and was the first non-Scandinavian to lift the title. That same year he represented his native Scotland at the [1950 British Empire Games](/source/1950_British_Empire_Games). His Olympic rival John Winter was present and victorious, but Paterson's jump of {{T&Fcalc|1.95}} brought him a share of the silver medal alongside Nigeria's [Joshua Majekodunmi](/source/Joshua_Majekodunmi) (his first and only international medal for Scotland).[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/cg.htm Commonwealth Games (Men)]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 18 October 2014. Paterson emigrated to Canada in 1951 and ceased national competition as a result. His final international appearance came at the [1952 Helsinki Olympics](/source/Athletics_at_the_1952_Summer_Olympics) at the age of twenty four. He was no longer competitive among the elite at that event and failed to clear {{T&Fcalc|1.90}}, ending his Olympic career with 24th-place finish. Following retirement from [athletics](/source/athletics_(sport)), Paterson remained in Canada and died there at the age of seventy in [Port Credit, Ontario](/source/Port_Credit%2C_Ontario). ==International competitions== {| {{AchievementTable}} |- || 1946 |[European Championships](/source/1946_European_Athletics_Championships) |[Oslo](/source/Oslo), Norway |bgcolor=silver|2nd |[High jump](/source/1946_European_Athletics_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump) |- || 1948 |[Olympic Games](/source/Athletics_at_the_1948_Summer_Olympics) |[London](/source/London) United Kingdom |7th |[High jump](/source/Athletics_at_the_1948_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump) |- || 1950 |[European Championships](/source/1950_European_Athletics_Championships) |[Brussels](/source/Brussels), Belgium |bgcolor=gold|1st |[High jump](/source/1950_European_Athletics_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump) |- |1950 |[British Empire Games](/source/Athletics_at_the_1950_British_Empire_Games) |[Auckland](/source/Auckland), New Zealand |bgcolor=silver|2nd |[High jump](/source/Athletics_at_the_1950_British_Empire_Games_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump) |- || 1952 |[Olympic Games](/source/Athletics_at_the_1952_Summer_Olympics) |[Helsinki](/source/Helsinki), Finland |24th |[High jump](/source/Athletics_at_the_1952_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_high_jump) |} ==See also== *[List of European Athletics Championships medalists (men)](/source/List_of_European_Athletics_Championships_medalists_(men)) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Alan Paterson}} * {{World Athletics|14555879}} * {{Team GB|CxcY07KimgPIIiSLsODB2}} * {{Olympics.com profile|alan-sinclair-paterson}} * {{Olympedia}} {{Footer European Champions High Jump Men}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Alan}} Category:1928 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Scottish men high jumpers Category:British men high jumpers Category:European Athletics Championships medalists Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Scotland Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Category:Scottish emigrants to Canada Category:Athletes from Glasgow Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Category:People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School Category:Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games Category:20th-century Scottish sportsmen Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alan Paterson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Paterson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Paterson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.