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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stuart George SLACK | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 January 1935 [1] Douglas, Isle of Man | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 5 December 1998 | ||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | ||||||||||||||
| Amateur team | |||||||||||||||
| Manx Viking Wheelers/Ellan Vannin CC | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Stuart Slack (25 January 1935 – 5 December 1998) was a racing cyclist from the Isle of Man. He was part of the first ever Manx team to participate in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[2]
Slack participated in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, taking part in the road cycling event. He finished third in the event, arriving in a five-man group nearly three minutes behind the race winner, Ray Booty[3] winning a Bronze Medal after a photo-finish.[4][5] In 2011, this result was described as being "against all expectations" and was credited with increasing the popularity of cycling in the Isle of Man.[6]
Later in his life, Slack published two books about the island. He was also a noted Manx musician and Isle of Man folk songwriter.[7] This including the popular folk song ‘The Laxey Wheel’ (1957).[8] A number of different recordings of Stuart Slack's folk songs were banned by the local commercial radio station Manx Radio for being too "risqué."[9]
Since his death in 1998 there is an annual cycle event in his memory.[10]
In 2002, the Isle of Man Post Office issued a set of postage stamps for the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester including a 22 pence stamp depicting the photo-finish of Stuart Slack's third-place finish in the Men's Cycling Road race at the 1958 Empire Games.[11]
