Background and career
Alan Peter Pascoe (born 11 October 1947) is a British former athlete who gained success in hurdles and competed at three Olympic Games. After his athletics career, he has been successful in events marketing and consulting.
Pascoe was born in Portsmouth, and lived in the Paulsgrove area of the city. He was educated at Portsmouth Southern Grammar School for Boys. He undertook higher education at Borough Road College, Isleworth, where he received a Certificate in Education, and the University of London, where he received an Honours degree in Education. He married sprinter Della James (1949–2023) in 1970. The couple had one son and one daughter.
Pascoe won medals in the Olympic Games, the European Championships, and the Commonwealth Games., also the European Indoor Games. After the 1974 Commonwealth Games victory Pascoe achieved a major distinction, in celebration he performed one of the great televised sporting bloopers. While doing his victory lap in reverse, Pascoe attempted to leap the last hurdle still remaining from the race and badly missed the hurdle, falling onto his back and denting the hurdle. Trying to regain his dignity, he circled around to attempt the jump the hurdle in another lane and fell identically. Laughing it off, he got up again and started turning over the other hurdles. See the video on YouTube. In winning the race he also achieved the minor distinction of running the seventh fastest 400-metre hurdle time, third fastest time by a British athlete, to that date (behind Jim Seymour, Ralph Mann, David Hemery and the then world record holder John Akii-Bua) at 48.8, despite running in the outside lane. Pascoe was a five-times British 110 metres hurdles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1968 AAA Championships, 1971 AAA Championships and 1972 AAA Championships and being the highest placed British athlete at the 1967 AAA Championships and 1969 AAA Championships. Olympics:
Silver, 4 × 400 m Relay, 1972 European Athletics Championships:
Bronze, 110 m Hurdles, 1969 Silver, 110 m Hurdles, 1971 Gold, 400 m Hurdles, 1974 Gold, 4 × 400 m Relay, 1974 Commonwealth Games:
Gold, 400 m Hurdles, 1974 Silver, 4 × 400 m Relay, 1974 Bronze, 400 m Hurdles, 1978 European Indoor Games:
