Willie Applegarth

Willie Applegarth

Willie Applegarth with coach Sam Mussabini at the 1912 Olympics
Personal information
Born	11 May 1890 Guisborough, Redcar and Cleveland, Great Britain
Died	5 December 1958 (aged 68) Schenectady, United States
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Club	Polytechnic Harriers, London
Coached by	Sam Mussabini
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 10.6 (1912) 200 m – 21.1 (1914)[1]
Medal record Representing  United Kingdom Olympic Games 1912 Stockholm 4×100 m relay 1912 Stockholm 200 metres

William Reuben "Willie" Applegarth (11 May 1890 – 5 December 1958) was a British track and field athlete, winner of gold medal in 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Born in Guisborough, in present-day Redcar and Cleveland, England, William Applegarth was one of the best European sprinters during the World War I.

At the Stockholm Olympics, Applegarth was eliminated in the semifinals of 100 m competition and won a bronze medal in 200 m. As the anchoring leg in the British 4 × 100 m relay team, he won a gold medal, in spite of finishing second after the United States in the semifinal. The United States was later disqualified for a fault in passing the baton; the same mistake was made in the final by world record holder and main favourite German team.^[2]

Applegarth was a British AAA champion in 100 yd (91 m) in 1913 and 1914 and in 220 yd (200 m) from 1912 to 1914. Shortly after the Olympics, Applegarth repeated the Donald Lippincott's world record in 100 m of 10.6 and set a new world record of 21.2 in 200 m in the 1914 AAA meeting. His 200 m record was not broken until 1928.^[2]

In November 1914, Applegarth turned professional and in 1922 emigrated to America, where became track and association football coach at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. He also played for Brooklyn in the American Soccer League. In 1925 he retired from sport and began working as a welder at the General Electric Company, where he stayed until 1955. He died at age 68, in the same year that his British 100 yd (91 m) record of 9.8 s was finally broken.^[2]

References

External links

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