Shirley Hampton

{{Short description|English sprinter (born 1935)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox sportsperson | headercolor = | name = Shirley Hampton | image = | image_size =  | caption = | nationality = British (English) | sport = Athletics | event = Sprinting | club = Orpington LAC<br>Phoenix AC | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|9|15|df=y}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000650/19550916/009/0009 |title=Disley's Victory |newspaper=Liverpool Daily Post |date=16 September 1955 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2025}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = | pb = | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Women's athletics}} {{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championships}} {{MedalBronze|1954 Bern|200 m}} {{MedalCountry | {{ENG}} }} {{MedalCompetition|British Empire & Commonwealth Games}} {{MedalSilver| 1954 Vancouver|4x110 yards}} {{MedalBronze| 1954 Vancouver|220 yards}} }}

'''Shirley Hampton''' married name '''Shirley Pirie''' (born 15 September 1935) is a former athlete who competed for England.

== Early life == Hampton originated from Orpington. Her father was Harold and she attended Woolwich Polytechnic.<ref>{{cite news|title=|newspaper=Penge Gazette|date=3 July 1953|page=6}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2025}}

== Athletics career == Hampton finished second behind Sylvia Cheeseman in the 220 yards event at the 1952 WAAA Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004941/19520615/272/0010 |title=Dorothy Tyler changes style and shocks world champion |newspaper=Sunday Express |date=15 June 1952 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2025}} After finished second behind Ann Johnson in the 220 yards event at the 1952 WAAA Championships,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/waaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (women) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref> she represented England<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003295/19540622/094/0005 |title=England pick strong team for Empire Games |work=Halifax Evening Courier |date=22 June 1954 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=18 September 2025}}</ref> and won a silver medal in the 4 x 110 yards relay and a bronze medal in the 220 yards at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thecgf.com/results/athletes/39751|title=Athletes and results|publisher=Commonwealth Games Federation}}{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/vancouver-1954/athletes|title=1954 Athletes|publisher=Team England}}</ref>

Other achievements in 1954 included winning a bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships in Bern. In 1955, she finished second and third respectively in the sprints at the 1955 WAAA Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000729/19550703/184/0016 |title=Margaret Doubles To It - Loses Record |newspaper=The People |date=3 July 1955 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 February 2025 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2025}}

Hampton finished third behind June Paul in the 220 yards event at the 1956 WAAA Championships<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004941/19560812/285/0012 |title=Girl of 19 beats world record |newspaper=Sunday Express |date=12 August 1956 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 February 2025 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2025}} and then broke the world record with a time of 56.4 when she won the 1958 WAAA Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003359/19580608/220/0012 |title=England's Girl Athletes Can Hold Australians |newspaper=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=8 June 1958 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 February 2025 }}</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2025}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=15 February 2025}}</ref>

== Personal life == She married the English Olympic silver medallist long-distance runner and coach Gordon Pirie on 24 September 1956 at Caxton Hall<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Edinburgh Evening News|date=4 September 1956|page=6}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date= July 2025}} and became Shirley Pirie. There were two daughters of the marriage, Joanne and Sara. The couple separated in 1978.

== References == {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}}

==External links== *{{Sport links}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Shirley}} Category:1935 births Category:English women sprinters Category:British women sprinters Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Category:Living people Category:Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:20th-century English sportswomen Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics