About Sheila Sherwood
Sheila Hilary Sherwood née Parkin (22 October 1945) is a former international long jumper who won a silver medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico, and a gold medal at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympic Games (1964, 1968 and 1972) and had a career best distance of 6.73 metres. == Biography == As a child, her parents were caretaker and head cook at St Thomas More School in nearby Grenoside. Sherwood attended Yew Lane Secondary Modern, where at the age of fifteen she was appointed as Head-Girl. After a successful set of O-Level results, she transferred to nearby Ecclesfield Grammar School to study for her A-Levels. Parkin first came to prominence as an athlete as a 16-year-old as a member of the Sheffield-based Sheffield United Harriers athletic club. She created an English Schools long jump record in the summer of 1962. On the strength of this she was selected to represent Great Britain against Poland in August 1962 where she finished second behind former world record holder Elzbieta Krzensinska by just 2 cm. This performance started her long and distinguished career as an international long jumper, as it resulted in selection for the 1962 European championships in Belgrade, where she finished 12th, and then representing England in the long jump at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, where she achieved 5th position. Sherwood's early career saw only a slight improvement in her jumping, and she was eclipsed by fellow British jumper Mary Rand on many occasions, such as finishing second behind her at the 1963 WAAA Championships and 1964 WAAA Championships.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.