Fallon is tops
THE nearest I’ve got to sporting glory was in the summer of 1964.
My Mum was eight-and-a-half months’ pregnant with me when she became Banbury Ladies Darts Champion, and I treasure the silver rattle she bought me with her winnings.
It was, she told me later, the first time her father and brothers had ever been proud of her, and Grandad basked in her reflected glory for months.
I can’t throw an arrow to save my life but I’ve always enjoyed watching darts on telly.
Especially back when Eric Bristow, Bobby George and Jocky Wilson were flabby, fag-puffing, pint-sinking gladiators and the legendary commentator Sid Waddell assured us “there hasn’t been this much excitement since the Romans fed the Christians to the Lions.”
In 1988 a friend took me to the World Championships at
Lakeside Country Club but I felt out of place in the smoky, blokey testosteronefuelled crowd.
And the “walk on girls” seemed outdated, even then.
But how I wish I had been at Ally Pally on Tuesday night to see Fallon Sherrock smash through darts’ now nicotine stain-free glass ceiling.
This petite, blonde hairdresser and teetotal single mum became an overnight hero simply by beating the men at their own game.
She was the first woman ever to win a world championship match against a bloke and last night she was taking on the world number 11 in a second round match.
And Fallon’s quiet confidence and determination have made darts fans of all genders proud.
She has always seen herself as just another player, not a “darts invader” or feminist taliswoman.
And the only point Fallon set out to make was the one left in the bullseye by her perfectly aimed arrow. But Fallon has an inspirational back story, too.
She’s overcome serious health problems and cruel trolling about her appearance – when medication made her face swell hugely – and her son, Rory, five, has autism.
And now that she’s realised she IS actually a role model she’s delighted.
“I’m just happy I’ve made history and inspired more women to take up the sport,” she says.
“If I can keep on hitting the doubles then who’s to say I can’t keep going and beat any man?”
When Eric Bristow won his third world championship in 1984 Sid Waddell spouted his most famous line of commentary. He gushed: “When Alexander of Macedonia was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer... Bristow’s only 27.”
Fallon Sherrock is just 25 – and has many more victories ahead.