In 1975, he won the Scottish schoolboys 100 and 200 championships.[3] He went on to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow in the 100m, 200m where he reached the semi-finals of both sprints, and was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay where the U.K. finished 4th in the final in a new British record.
He took the silver medal in the 200 m at the European Athletics Championships in Athens in 1982, narrowly losing the gold to East German sprinter Olaf Prenzler, but beating another top East German (Frank Emmelmann, the 100 metre winner) into bronze. Sharp also finished fourth in the 100 metres final, again narrowly missing out on a medal.
He also competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics and again reached the semi-finals of both the sprints, narrowly missing out in places of the finals.
In 1991 he was involved in a serious car accident which left him physically and mentally disabled. Married to Carol Lightfoot, former Scottish 800 metre runner, and has two daughters, one of whom, Lynsey, competes as an 800-metre runner. Both daughters are national athletics champions.