Tucker was a junior champion of Surrey and studied modern languages at
Jesus College, Oxford. He was a member of
Herne Hill Harriers and broke the javelin throw club record in March 1950, throwing 187 feet. After winning the javelin for Oxford at the 1950 annual varsity match he won the Herne Hill Harriers senior championships. He enjoyed a successful 1952, becoming only the sixth British athlete to throw over 200 feet and finishing third behind
Michael Denley and
Dick Miller at the
1952 AAA Championships, which meant that he only just missed out on Olympic selection for the
1952 Summer Olympics. After Oxford, he took a teaching position at
Caterham School and was selected to represent the
English team at the
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in
Vancouver, Canada, where finished fourth in the
javelin throw event. At the
1955 AAA Championships he finished runner-up behind Romanian
Dumitru Zamfir but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete, he was declared
British champion. == References ==