Women’s Amateur Athletic Association Championship

The Story of the Event

The Women’s Amateur Athletic Association track walk did indeed, as the trophy states, start out as an 880yard event at the first WAAA Championships in the 1923. The distances have fluctuated throughout the history of the event, with a general trajectory towards longer distance walks. These fluctuations are partly due to the switch from imperial to metric, and partly due to the easing off of rules preventing women competing at distance events for fear of the damage it would cause them.

The distances competed over at the WAAA Championships are as follows:

1923-1927: 880 yards
1928-1932: 1 mile
1933-1939: 1600m
1945: 1 mile
1946-1951: 1600m
1952-1958: 1 mile 
1959-1968: 1.5 miles 
1969-1972: 2500m  
1973-1974: 3000m
1975-2014: 5000m
2015-date: 3000m

Track walking is an event which has been dominated by British athletes at the WAAA championship, with very few overseas winners prevailing. Sue Cook from Australia is one of those, in 1982 she won the 5000m track walk at the WAAA Championships, as well as holding world records in both the 10km and 20km distances. In 1983 Canadian athlete Ann Peel, twice winner of the Pan-American title, won the WAAA title too. 

It is evident that the inclusion of track walking in the WAAA championships from the 1920s was a trailblazer for international sport. It was not until 1992 that any walk discipline was included in the Olympic programme, with the 10km being contested at the Barcelona Games, although separate international world cups had been held for some years previously.

In 1934, Jeanne Probekk set a world best time for the 1600m Walk at the WAAA championships of 7:38. In the post-war years, the event was dominated by two names, Joyce Heath and Judy Farr. Heath completed an unusual double in 1950, rendered more extraordinary for taking place on the same day. She completed the 1600m walk in 8:17 – albeit 39 seconds slower than Probekk’s record – and then took the mile run an hour later. Farr’s record of ten titles, nine in consecutive years, is yet to be beaten by any athlete at the championships. Her first coming in 1960 at the age of 18 and under her maiden name, Woodsford, and her last with a championship record in 1970. 

More recently, four athletes have shown signs of similar domination; Betty Sworowski with four consecutive victories, and Jo Jackson, Bethan Davies and Erika Kelly with three apiece. Lisa Langford, whose name appears twice on this trophy won bronze at the 1990 and 1998 Commonwealth Games, before going one better with a Commonwealth silver medal in 2002. Jackson celebrated the first of her three titles in 2010 by becoming Commonwealth champion. Davies became Commonwealth bronze medallist in 2018.

The Donor

The News of the World newspaper, now defunct, was, “one of the sport’s great benefactors,” according to WAAA historian, Mel Watman. They played an important role in promoting the International Women’s Games held at Stamford Bridge in 1924, to the extent that audience attendance was 25,000. The Games, the first organised international athletics meeting for women, had initially been held in Monte Carlo, where the donor of the women’s discus trophy, British athlete Sophie Elliot-Lynn, competed in three events and her team-mate, Mary Lines won 5 events. Returning from Monte Carlo, these British athletes established the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association in 1923, which became the governing body for women’s athletics in England until the 1990s. Support in the press from newspapers such as The News of the World helped the Association to flourish in the face of many who did not believe athletics was suitable for women. Nearly 30 years after sponsoring this trophy for the women’s race the News of the World introduced the Emsley Carr Mile trophy for men.

History of the Trophy

WAAA champions in the track walk received this trophy from 1925 until 1995, although the event had been held at the first two championships.

Since 2010 the trophy has been presented to the winner of the English Senior Championships.

Previous Winners*

	1951    J. Heath	1973 B. Jenkins
1925 F.B. Faulkner	1952 B.E.M. Day	1974 M. Fawkes
1926 D.E. Crossley	1953 B. Randle	1975 V.C. Lovell
1927 M.F. Hegarty	1954 B.E.M. Randle	1976 M. Fawkes
1928 L.L. Howes	1955 B. Randle	1977 M. Fawkes
1929 L.L. Howes	1956 D. Williams	1978 C.J. Tyson
1930 C.M. Mason	1957G. Williams	1979 M. Fawkes
1931 C.M. Mason	1958 (B. Franklin)*	1980 I.L. Bateman
1932 C.M. Mason	1959 B. Franklin	1981 (C. Tyson)*
1933 D.L. J. Probekk	1960 J. Woodsford	1982 S. Cook
1934          J. Probbekk	1961 S. Jennings	1983 (A. Peel)*
1935 J. Howes	1962 J. Farr	1984 J. Barrett
1936 J. Howes	1963 J. Farr	1985 V.C. Birch
1937 F. Pengelly	1964 J. Farr	1986 H. Elleker
1938 E.M. Webb	1965 J. Farr	1987 L. Langford
1939 F. Pengelly	1966 J. Farr	1988 B. Sworowski
1945 (D. Riddington)*	1967 J. Farr	1989 B. Sworowski
1946 D. Mann	1968 J. Farr	1990 B. Sworowski
1947 D. Riddington	1969 J. Farr	1991 B. Sworowski
1948 M.J. Heath	1970 J. Farr	1992 V. Lupton
1949 M.J. Heath	1971 B. Cook	1993 V. Lupton
1950 M.J. Heath	1972 B. Jenkins	1994 V. Snook
		1995 (L. Langford)*
2010 J. Jackson	2013 B. Davies	2016 B. Davies
2011 J. Jackson	2014 B. Davies	2017 E. Kelly
2012 J. Jackson	2015 B. Davies	2018 E. Kelly
		2019 E. Kelly

*N.B. Names are as recorded on the trophy and are not always as recorded elsewhere. 

Names which appear in brackets have not been recorded on the trophy but are in the records.

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