Lillian Board (13 December 1948–26 December 1970) was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in Athens. Her career was cut short in 1970 when she developed the colorectal cancer that within months would claim her life at the age of 22.

Early years

Board was born on 13 December 1948 in Durban, South Africa. Her parents, George and Frances Board, had immigrated from Manchester, England, in April 1947 with their son, George Alfred. Feeling increasingly homesick after the birth of Lillian and her fraternal twin sister, Irene, the family returned to Manchester in February 1950.

Who was Lillian Board married to?

At the time of her death, Lillian was engaged to sports journalist David Emery. He was with her throughout her illness. After her death, he married her twin sister Irene. She was the only female panelist on the first nationwide edition of BBC TV’s quiz show A Question of Sport, broadcast on 5 January 1970. 

The other panelists were footballers George Best and Tom Finney and cricketer Ray Illingworth (the team captains were boxer Henry Cooper and rugby player Cliff Morgan, and the presenter was David Vine.) The recording of this historic edition of one of television’s most popular and durable programs (now in its 54th year) is missing from the BBC archives.

International Success

Lilian has achieved a lot of international success during various seasons:

1966 season

Board’s performances at 400 m in the 1966 season earned her a place in the England team for the Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica, that August. Here, after winning her 400 m heat (54.7), Board finished fifth in the final in a time of 54.7 seconds, just outside her personal best. It was a very creditable effort for a 17-year-old. Unfortunately, she was not selected for the Great Britain team at the European Championships in Budapest, which took place between 30 August and 4 September.

1967 season

Board firmly announced her arrival onto the international scene when, still aged only 18, she won the 400 m race in a Commonwealth v. USA match in Los Angeles, California, on 9 July 1967. She came from last to first with a stunning late surge and won in a time of 52.8 seconds, the second fastest ever recorded by a European woman. The race was broadcast live on British television and made her a household name.

She built on this watershed success by running four victories at 400 m in five international races, perhaps the most significant in claiming Britain’s only win for its women in the 1967 European Cup final on 15 September in Kyiv.

Scoring Big in the 1968 season and Olympic Games

Board began the 1968 season with a victory in the 440-yard race at an inter-club meeting in Brighton, her time of 54.8 comfortably inside the Olympic qualifying standard. She then jumped to the top of the world rankings after winning over 400 m (53.5) at an international meeting in Moscow.

However, at the Women’s AAA championships in July, she spurned the chance of an almost certain victory in the 400 m and instead decided to contest the 800 meters. Having won her heat (2:05.7), she then revealed enormous potential in this event with a superb 2:02.0—the second fastest ever by a British woman—to finish 2nd to the reigning European 800 m champion, Vera Nikolic of Yugoslavia, whose time of 2:00.5 was a new world record.

1969 season and European Championships

In 1969, Board opened the season with a new personal best 100m of 11.9 and a 52.9 to contribute to a 4 × 400m world record of 3:37.6, but in early July strained ligaments in her back, which meant missing a further five weeks of the season. She returned in August with a 52.5 anchor leg in the 4 × 400 m relay to help Great Britain defeat the USA in an international match at London’s White City.

Awards and Honors

Here is a list of awards she has won:

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    • • Voted ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ for 1968 by the Sports Journalists’ Association.

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    • • Best Woman Athlete in the Games: 1969 European Championships in Athletics.

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    • •  Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on the New Year Honors List for 1970 in recognition of her services in athletics

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    • •  Sportswoman of the Year for 1970 for Rebecca Lyne from the 2006 edition of the 800 m by bronze medal was won at the European Athletics Championships this year. Lillian Board has a bronze for which she says she has been given.

Titles and Records

Here are some titles and records achieved by the Lilian Board:

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    • • Won six titles at the WAAA’s Championships, including the 440-yard title in 1967.

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    • • Set 11 UK records, including a 400 m record of 52.12 in 1968.

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    • • Helped set four relay world records (at 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 400 m (twice), and 4 × 800 m) between September 1968 and June 1970, running the anchor/last leg each time.

What happened to Lillian Board?

She was an obvious choice as the 1969 Nos Galan Mystery Runner, but, tragically, it was less than a year later that the world was in mourning over her untimely death at the age of 22. Lillian Board died of cancer on December 26, 1970, almost a year to the day when she was the Nos Galan Mystery Runner. Soon after the mile race in Rome, she started suffering from stomach upsets. These were diagnosed as a virus, and she was prescribed pills.

She continued to feel unwell but still managed to contribute a 2:07.0 leg to a 4 × 800 m world record on 13 June in Edinburgh. She ran 2:06.8 six days later when winning her 800 m heat at the Women’s AAA championships at Crystal Palace, London, despite being doubled up in pain before the race. Pale and underweight, she then finished a tired third (2:05.1) in the 800 m final on 20 June.

Where is Lillian Board buried?

Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium, London, United Kingdom.