Ken Wood (athlete)

Ken Wood
Personal information
Born 21 November 1930
Died 8 September 2008 (aged 77)
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
Sport Middle-distance running
Club Sheffield United Harriers

Kenneth "Ken" Wood (21 November 1930 - 8 September 2008) was a British middle-distance runner. He ran one of the early Four-minute mile runs and represented Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Career

Wood competed with the Sheffield United Harriers athletic club. Between 1954 and 1961 he won the Emsley Carr Mile a record four times. In this period he was selected to run for Great Britain in the 1956 Olympic 1500 metres finishing ninth in the final. [1] Wood won the mile event at the British Athletics Championships in 1956 and 1959. [2] In May 1955 Wood finished second in a two-mile race behind Sándor Iharos both breaking the world two mile outdoor record. Woods time being 8:34.8. [3]

He became the fourteenth athlete (the fifth from the UK) to officially run a Four-minute mile, achieving a time of 3:59.3 on 19 July 1957.[4] He in fact finished fourth behind Derek Ibbotson, who set a new British record, Ron Delany and Stanislav Jungwirth. [5] [6]

On the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister's first Four-minute mile, Wood claimed he had previously run under four minutes on 7 April 1954. [7] [8] This unofficial run being timed by explorer and then Sheffield University student Roy Koerner.

Wood died in September 2008.[9]

Record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1954 Emsley Carr Mile White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:04.8
1955 Emsley Carr Mile White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:05.4
May 1955 Athletics Meeting London 2nd Two miles 8:34.8 (Won by Sándor Iharos (8:33.4) )
1956 British Athletics Championships White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:06.8
Dec 1956 Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics Melbourne, Australia 9th 1500m 3:46:6 (Won by Ron Delany (3:41.49) )
July 1957 Athletics Meeting White City Stadium, London 4th Mile 3:59.3 (Won by Derek Ibbotson (3:57.2) )
1957 Emsley Carr Mile White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:02.0
1959 British Athletics Championships White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:08.1
1961 Emsley Carr Mile White City Stadium, London 1st Mile 4:08.4

References

  1. ↑ "Ken Wood". sports-reference. sports-reference. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1945-1959". GBRathletics. GBRathletics. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Track feats bolster US olympic hopes". archives.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sub-4 Register in Date Sequence". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Alan Gordon". Scottish Distance Running History. Scottish Distance Running History. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Racing Past - Derek Ibbotson". Racing Past. Racing Past. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (11 April 2004). "Athletics: The four-minute miler who beat Bannister by 29 days". Independent. Independent Newspapers. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Davies, Catriona (12 April 2004). "Did another runner pip Sir Roger?". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Mile champ Ken dies at age of 77". TheStar. The Star. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2015.


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