Donna Hartley

Donna Murray

Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	1 May 1955 Southampton, England
Died	7 June 2013 (aged 58) Elsecar, England
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprints
Club	Southampton Athletics Club
Medal record Representing Great Britain Women's Athletics Olympic Games 1980 Moscow 4x400 m relay Representing England Commonwealth Games 1978 Edmonton 400 m 1978 Edmonton 4x400 m relay

Donna Marie Louise Murray married names Hartley and later Wass MBE, (1 May 1955 – 7 June 2013), was a British athlete.

Biography

Murray, born in Southampton, was a south of England sprint champion and then became the British 200 metres champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the 1972 WAAA Championships.

Two years later, Murray became the British 400 metres champion at the 1975 WAAA Championships.

Shortly before the 1977 WAAA Championships Murray married fellow athlete Bill Hartley and competed under her married name thereafter. As Donna Hartley, she then finished second behind Sonia Lannaman in the 200 metres. At the newly formed 1977 UK Athletics Championships she won the 400 metres title.

In 1978, Hartley won two Commonwealth gold medals in Edmonton, Canada, where she won the 400 metres, and the 4x400 relay. In 1979, she was European cup semi finalist winner in both 400, and 400 relay again. She also was runner up in European cup finals in 1975, and 1977 in 400, and 400 relay again. Sponsored by the Midland Bank, Worked in Liverpool. In 1980, she competed at the Moscow Olympic Games where she won a bronze medal in the 4 x 400 relay.

After retiring from athletics Hartley married Robert Wass, better known as comedian and actor Bobby Knutt. As Donna Hartley-Wass, she competed for several years on the UK women's body building circuit, winning the National Amateur Body Building Association's Miss Britain Physique trophy in 1988, having placed third the previous year. Her bodybuilding career was short-lived and for several years after that she ran a line dancing school in Sheffield near the family home. Hartley-Wass featured on the front cover of Health & Strength magazine.

Hartley trained at a Sheffield health studio jointly owned by Bobby Knutt. Under the guidance of the health studio owner and ex-Sheffield Wednesday coach Tony Toms, Hartley achieved national success very quickly on the women's bodybuilding circuit.

She died while sunbathing in her back garden on 7 June 2013, being discovered by her husband of 26 years.

Medals

• Gold medalist (400 m relay) 1978 Commonwealth Games.
• Bronze medalist (400 m relay). 1980 Olympic Games.

External links

• British Olympic Association profile Archived 25 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• Donna Hartley's obituary