Tony Shacklady

Tony Shacklady was just two years old when his father, Max Shacklady, represented Great Britain as a welterweight boxer at the 1948 London Olympics. He followed his father by competing at Olympic level though in freestyle wrestling rather than boxing. Shacklady won his first national title in 1969 as a middleweight before shedding weight to win the welterweight title in 1971 and 1972. After placing sixth at the 1973 World Championships he won his only major international medal, a silver, at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. His Olympic performances were a disappointment and he lost each one of his six bouts spread out over three Olympic appearances.

In 1980, at the age of 35, he joined the police force and eventually rose to the rank of inspector. He became one of the UK’s leading trainers in the use of CS Sprays for riot control. During the 80s and 90s he was also coach and team manager to the England and Great Britain teams at many international tournaments including the 1992 Olympic Games. In 2002 he suffered a major stroke from which he was never able to recover. After a decade in a residential care home he died in 2014.