Teenage Pram Pushing

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Jodie Prentice: Three times world champion and youngest winner of the gold medal shown here with her son Declan.

Teenage Pram Pushing is a traditional British athletics track event in which teams comprising of one adolescent parent and their baby complete 400 metres or 1 lap with the aid of a perambulator (aka pram). The first parent to cross the finishing line (with the baby still in the pram) is declared the winner.

It is traditionally the final event of the Commonwealth Games, giving team Great Britain one last chance to win a gold medal in what is usually a poor games for them. At top class events, the first 300 metres is run in lanes, so start lines are staggered by more than in a 200 metres race.

Competitors are free to use any pram which meets IPC requirements but dimensions (in cm's) must not exceed 68.5W x 81-106H (depending on handle bar position). Perambulators must not weigh more than 13.5kg although handicapping (similar to that of horse racing) is common. The weight to be carried by a pram (quite often a brick placed in the pram alongside the baby) in a handicap is determined by the pram's Official Rating. This is a figure given to every pram after one of the following happens.

• 1. The pram wins a race
• 2. The pram loses 3 times and in at least one of these races the pram finishes in the first six positions. If it does not get a top six finish in the first three runs, then it must continue racing until it achieves a top six position before it receives an Official Rating.

The Crystal Palace Arena: Originally built as the home of British Teenage Pram Pushing.

Internationally, the United Kingdom girl's team has dominated the event over the years, but have been challenged by the United States in the 1980s and South Africa in the 1990s. Britons for decades had been very proud of their achievements in this field although former prime minister Tony Blair called Britain's Pram Pushing record "shameful" and said governments had steered clear of the subject because it was controversial. This was not particularly popular with the British public or media and he was quickly replaced by Gordon Brown within a few months of his statement.

After years of public demand, the Crystal Palace Arena was built in the hometown of Britain's most successful athlete, Jodie Prentice who has brought home the gold medal on no less than three occassions. Since then, Pram Pushing participation in Britain has increased by 27%. Starting out as a minority sport alongside croquet, it is now Britains fourth most popular sport and is now a common feature of most school sports days and gala events across the country.

Competitors must be younger than 16, a ruling which famously prevented South Africa's Emma Carpenter from winning the 1987 world title. Although she gave birth to her daughter at the age of 15, she had already turned 16 when she won the race in front of her supporters in the '87 Johannesburg Games.

Recent World Title Winners (2000 onwards)