Malcolm Spence (Jamaican athlete)

For the South African athlete, see Malcolm Spence (South African athlete).

Malcolm Spence

Personal information
Full name	Malcolm Emanuel Augustus Spence
Nickname	Mal
Born	2 January 1936 Kingston, Jamaica
Died	30 October 2017(2017-10-30) (aged 81) Boca Raton, Florida
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	71 kg (157 lb)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  British West Indies (BWI) Olympic Games 1960 Rome 4x400 metres relay Pan American Games 1959 Chicago 4×400 m 1959 Chicago 400 m Representing  Jamaica Commonwealth Games 1962 Perth 4x440 yards 1958 Cardiff 4x440 yards Central American and Caribbean Games 1962 Kingston 4×400 m 1962 Kingston 400 metres

Malcolm A. E. Spence (2 January 1936 – 30 October 2017) was a Jamaican athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. His twin brother Melville also competed in track and field.

Spence competed for the British West Indies in the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy, where he won the bronze medal in the men's 4x400 metres relay with his teammates James Wedderburn, Keith Gardner and George Kerr. Curiously, there were two people named Malcolm Spence running the 400 meters distance at both the 1956 and the 1960 Olympics, both getting a bronze medal in 1960. Malcolm Spence from South Africa took the bronze medal in the Open race, while the South African relay team finished in fourth, one second behind Mal Spence's British West Indian relay team. Both twins returned to run the 4x400 relay in 1964 as members of the first independent Jamaican team.

Living in Florida, he served as a torchbearer for the 1996 Olympics in nearby Atlanta.

Both Mal and his twin brother were recruited to run for Arizona State University during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s, among the first international athletes to come to the US for athletics.^[1][2]

He is the author of The Lives and Times of Mal and Mel: Three Times Jamaican Olympians published in 2011.^[3]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Jamaica
1956	Olympic Games^1	Melbourne, Australia	15th (h)	200 m	21.86
			9th (sf)	400 m	47.52
			8th (h)	4 × 400 m relay	3:11.0^1
1957	British West Indies Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	1st	400 m	47.3
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:14.0
1958	British Empire and Commonwealth Games	Cardiff, United Kingdom	16th (sf)	440 y	48.4
			3rd	4 × 440 y relay	3:10.08
1959	British West Indies Championships	Georgetown, British Guiana	2nd	400 m
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:09.5
	Pan American Games^2	Chicago, United States	3rd	400 m	46.6
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:05.3
1960	British West Indies Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	1st	400 m	46.7
	Olympic Games^2	Rome, Italy	10th (sf)	400 m	46.99
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.13
1962	Central American and Caribbean Games	Kingston, Jamaica	3rd	400 m	47.4
			1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:11.6
	British Empire and Commonwealth Games	Perth, Australia	5th	440 y	47.7
			1st	4 × 440 y relay	3:10.2
1963	Pan American Games	São Paulo, Brazil	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:12.61
1964	British West Indies Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	2nd	400 m	48.2
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.3
1966	Central American and Caribbean Games	San Juan, Puerto Rico	9th (sf)	400 m	49.4
	British Empire and Commonwealth Games	Kingston, Jamaica	22nd (h)	440 y	48.7

¹Disqualified in the final
²Representing British West Indies

References

1. "Boca Raton Olympian Malcolm Spence dies at 81". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
2. "Sun Devils Remember Malcolm Spence II". thesundevils.com. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
3. Spence, Malcolm (July 2011). The Lives and Times of Mal and Mel: Three Times Jamaican Olympians. ISBN 9781462013968.

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mal Spence". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
• "Obituary of Olympian Malcolm 'Mal' Spence". Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association. 11 July 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}