John Wrighton

Who is John Wrighton?

John Derek Wrighton MB, BS, FRCS in Ilford, Essex, is a retired track and field athlete, who represented Great Britain at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. He won two gold medals at the 1958 European Championships in Stockholm, Sweden: in the men's individual 400 metres and in the 4x400 metres relay, alongside Edward Sampson, John MacIsaac, and John Salisbury. Known for both his pronounced lean when running and his erratic pacing, John Wrighton and John Salisbury marked the beginning of the renaissance of British quarter miling after the second World War.

From 1958, Wrighton served on a short-service commission with the Royal Navy, achieving the rank of Surgeon Lieutenant, after which he was placed on the emergency list and retired in May 1961. He then completed his medical training becoming FRCS in 1967 and made his home in Dorset where he worked for many years as a family doctor.