Sharron Davies

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Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Similar names Template:Infobox swimmer

Sharron Elizabeth Davies (born 1 November 1962) is an English former swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. She won a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley in the 1980 Olympics. In all Davies has attended 12 consecutive Olympics,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> including working for BBC Sport.

She competed in three Olympic Games<ref name=":0" /> over three decades, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite Sports-Reference</ref> She also competed internationally in a period spanning over 20 years.

Since retiring from the sport, Davies has worked for various media organisations and programmes. In 2005, Davies supported the British Olympic bid by profile-raising and appearing as spokesperson on BBC's Question Time, where she made a strong case for bringing the games to London for 2012. Davies is a current patron of the Disabled Sport England and SportsAid. She was also the face of the Swim for Life charity event which raised total over £10m for many charities. She has publicly expressed her opinions on transgender people in sports.

Early life

Davies was born in Plymouth, Devon, and grew up in Plymouth and Plymstock. She has twin brothers. She attended Plymstock Comprehensive School and the private school Kelly College, which is now known as Mount Kelly, in Tavistock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She originally learnt to swim with Devonport Royal Swimming Association. She moved to Port of Plymouth Swimming Association when she was eight and was coached for the first year first by Ray Bickley then by her father Terry Davies who became a coach.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Her father was added in 2021 to the Coaches Association Hall of Fame.<ref name=":1" />

Swimming

She set a record by swimming for the British national team at the age of 11. In 1976, at age 13, Davies was selected to represent Great Britain at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The next year she won two bronze medals in the 1977 European Championships. The following year, at age 15, she won gold medals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in the 200 and 400-metre individual medleys and also a silver and a bronze medal.<ref name="wiltshirelive">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1980 Olympics, Davies took the silver medal in the 400 m individual medley behind Petra Schneider from East Germany, who later admitted that the victory was drug enhanced.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

At 18, Davies called time on the first stage of her swimming career to build her television profile and a career in modelling. In 1989, and training at Bracknell & Wokingham Swimming Club, she returned to the pool, where she picked up two more medals at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.<ref name="wiltshirelive" />Template:Failed verification

Medals and awards

Davies has broken or re broken many British records whilst competing and winning<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Sharron Davies">Template:Cite web</ref> For medals table, see Medal record.

Davies held the Commonwealth Record for 400-metre individual medley for 18 years. She has broken five World Masters records.<ref name="Sharron Davies"/>

In the latest development in the story of the East German state-run doping programme, The Times broke the news in 2021 of a possibility that the bronze and silver medals won may be upgraded to gold.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

At the ASA National British Championships she won 22 titles – the 100 metres freestyle title in 1978, 200 metres freestyle title in 1977 and 1978, 400 metres freestyle title in 1977, 1978 and 1979, 800 metres freestyle title in 1978, 200 metres backstroke title in 1976, 1977 and 1978, 200 metres medley title in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1989 and 1992, 400 metres medley title in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 and the 50 metres butterfly title in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the 1993 New Year Honours, Davies was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire "for services to swimming".<ref name="LG 30 December 1992">Template:London Gazette</ref>

Politics and activism

Davies is a supporter of the Conservative Party and endorsed Kemi Badenoch in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Davies is known for her anti-trans views on gender identity and trans rights, and has been associated with the gender-critical movement. She has expressed concerns about the impact of self-identification on women's sport and spaces, arguing that it may disadvantage cisgender women. These views have generated significant debate and controversy.

In 2019, Davies made comments about participation by trans women in women's sport, opposing such participation and saying that trans women hold a biological advantage in sports.<ref name="indy">Template:Cite news</ref> She became involved in the question of trans women in sport because at the 1980 Olympics she lost out on gold to Petra Schneider who, along with other East German athletes, had been put on testosterone to enhance their performances through doping.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In a tweet posted on 21 December 2019, Davies expressed her disapproval of drag shows, comparing them to blackface.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed The statement drew criticism with some commentators finding her comparison to blackface inappropriate and disrespectful of the fight against racism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In response to the criticism, Davies clarified that her comment was not intended to be understood as racist. In April 2025, shortly after the death of transgender female drag performer and activist Bianca Castro-Arabejo (Jiggly Caliente), Davies responded to a BBC News obituary for Castro-Arabejo by posting, "When will this stop? Endless drag stories. I'd love to know who's responsible?", which attracted criticism from other X users including actress Faye Wheeler, who replied, "You are a heartless person."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, Davies said that trans women competing at the elite level stand to gain a performance advantage of 10–20% over women whose development from birth has not included influence from an active Y-chromosome development pathway (often classified as cisgender), with the degree of advantage depending on sport and age of medical transition (if any), and called for women's sport to exclude XY chromosome athletes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March, she wrote a column for The Times arguing that trans women's advantage is the result of going through male puberty, resulting in a narrower angle between the hips and knees which testosterone reduction does not eliminate, and called for trans women to compete in an open category rather than being excluded from competition entirely.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> In the same article, she stated: "This month we saw an athlete, Lia Thomas, who was an average club swimmer as a man claim an NCAA title as the US No 1 woman with 20 years of male development in the tank."<ref name=":2" />

In her 2023 book, Unfair Play: The Battle for Women’s Sport, Davies argues against the inclusion of trans women in women's sport.<ref name="Melanie Reid">Template:Cite news</ref> Davies compares trans women competing in women's sport to the drug-enhanced performances of GDR women that competed against her and other women, like Ann Osgerby.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In September 2023, Davies was reported to be leading a campaign aiming to question Members of Parliament (MPs) on camera about their understanding of the term "woman" and publishing their responses online.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The "What Is A Woman?" campaign claims that its volunteers are trained to approach MPs, seeking clarification of their positions on camera.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

In 2023, Davies criticised and called for a boycott of sportswear brand Nike after Dylan Mulvaney, a trans woman, promoted a Nike sports bra on social media.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2025, after commenting on the repeal of the Vagrancy Act, saying that decriminalising rough sleeping was a "huge mistake", Davies was suspended as patron of Shekinah, a Devon based homelessness charity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025 Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, nominated Davies for a peerage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Publications, media programmes and other work

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File:Sharron Davies.png
Sharron Davies in the 1983 series The Optimist
File:Royal Yacht Squadron Mermaid.jpg
Bronze statue of a mermaid, modelled by Davies, on the sea wall of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Personal life

In the 1980s, Davies lived with and was engaged to Neil Adams<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> an Olympic and World Championship medallist in judo.

Davies then married gym manager John Crisp in West Sussex in 1987. They were divorced in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1992, she met athlete Derek Redmond at the Barcelona Olympics. In 1994 they were married in Northampton, and had two children. They divorced in 2000.<ref name=telegraph>Template:Cite news</ref>

Davies's third marriage was to British Airways pilot Tony Kingston.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed They were married in 2002 in Gloucestershire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification In autumn 2006, she announced that she was three months pregnant after 8 rounds of IVF treatment, having been trying for a baby for four years and suffering two miscarriages. During a Sport Relief event in Devon, she said: "We're very optimistic and happy but we're cautious, too, because of what we have been through. Giving birth at 44 doesn't worry me. So many women go through this as they leave it later to have babies." Davies gave birth to her third child on 30 January 2007. She separated from Kingston in 2009 after seven years of marriage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

References

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