Graham HARCOURT

After success in junior competitions Graham Harcourt entered his first British Championships in 1952 and caused a surprise by placing 4th and qualifying for the British Olympic team at the age of 17. Luckily for him he turned 18, the minimum age for an Olympic gymnast, before the Helsinki Games. Immediately after his Olympic adventure he was called up for compulsory military service and was absent from the sport for over two years. Still only in his early twenties, Harcourt made a comeback in an attempt to qualify for Melbourne but was already beginning to suffer from arthritis and was not able to match his previous performances. Soon afterwards he retired from the sport and and joined the family printing business in Swansea. He steered the company to success and also found time to become chairman of the technical committee of the Welsh Gymnastic Association and to coach Olympian Andrew Morris.