Derek Boosey

An excellent triple jumper, it was unfortunate for Derek Boosey that the event was dominated in Britain by Fred Alsop at the same time as he was at his peak. Boosey never won a AAA title but was second to Alsop in 1967 and third on a further three occasions in 1964, 1969, and 1970, when Alsop was ahead of him in two of those years. Both men went to the 1968 Olympics and, while neither qualified for the final, Boosey outjumped Alsop by 30 centimetres in the qualifying round.

Boosey was born in India, where his father served in the armed services, and he too was a triple jumper, or hop, step, and jumper as it was widely known then, and he won the 1940 All-India Armed Forces title. Boosey junior moved to England in 1961 to join the Royal Air Force (RAF) and later went to Madeley College, where he was captain and chairman of the college athletics team. He became the deputy director of sports at the University of Sussex and was also the secretary of the International Athlete’s Club. In 1973 he joined long jumper Lynn Davies coaching in Canada as a national jumps coach. Boosey was one of three British Olympians on the list of 1,700 ambassadors for New York in its bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Personal Best: TJ – 16.22 (1968).