Alfred Shrubb

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alfred Shrubb
Alfred Shrubb about 1900

Alfred "Alfie" Shrubb (born December 12, 1879 in Slinfold , Sussex , Great Britain , † April 23, 1964 in Bowmanville , Canada ) was a British athlete who was successful at the beginning of the 20th century.

His nickname "The Little Wonder" refers to both his graceful figure (1.68 m tall, 63 kg heavy) and the fact that he is a runner over the medium and long distances of the 1,800 or so races he contested between 1899 and 1912, about 1,000 won and set no fewer than 28 world records. He was the first track and field athlete to hold the title of "International Master" and the first paid coach at Oxford University .

Shrubb was a passionate runner. It is said that on his wedding day he rushed to London immediately after the wedding to take part in a race.

Career

Alfred Shrubbs, born the fifth child of William and Harriet Shrubb, a talent for running was discovered when he tried to help with a house fire and reached the scene of the accident three miles away before the horses pulling the fire truck. He had two careers: from 1899 to 1905 as an amateur and from 1906 to 1912 as a professional. His amateur career ended when he was banned for life for accepting sponsorship funds.

The most notable year in his time as an amateur was 1904. On the one hand, he was unlucky that the British Athletics Federation refrained from sending a team to the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis , and was thus denied Olympic honors . On the other hand, this year he set seven world records on a single day. Shrubb belonged to the generation of runners who trained all year round, daily and covered long distances in training, while others at the same time were more likely to learn the running speed and therefore ran little, but faster, in training.

It was November 5th when thirteen runners gathered for a 10-mile race in Ibrox Park in Glasgow, Scotland . Shrubb had already arrived a week earlier to prepare for the big event. Over the 10-mile route, he had a best time of 51: 30.4 minutes, which he had to increase by 25 seconds in order to achieve the world record. When he covered the first four miles in 19: 50.6 minutes (the world record he had set for this distance five months earlier was 19: 23.4 minutes) nobody believed that he would be able to keep up this pace. However, the 24-year-old showed no signs of fatigue and with 29: 59.4 minutes over six miles was not only 18 seconds below the previous world record, but also as the first person on earth under 30 minutes. The subsequent split times of seven, eight and nine miles also set new world records. But it was to get better. When the fifth world record had fallen after mile ten, Shrubb decided without further ado to continue the race and attack the existing world record by running the hour. Accompanied by the sound of the bagpipes and the frenetic cheering of the spectators, who filled the stands regardless of the bad weather, he first improved the world record over eleven miles and added another 1,137 yards before the clock stopped at 60 minutes. At that moment, Walter George's 20-year-old record (18,555 m) was history. Alfred Shrubb's new record stood at 18,742 m (it was only set 9 years later by Jean Bouin to 19,021 m).

Alfred Shrubb was British champion ten times over various mile distances (one, four and ten miles). His real love, however, was cross-country running . In this discipline, too, he won several (a total of eight) national and regional British championships and was also victorious twice in a row at the Cross of Nations, which has been held since 1903 .

As a professional, he was able to seamlessly build on his previous successes. As early as February 1906, he improved the world record over three miles three times in a row at indoor races in London (14:27 min, 14: 23.4 min and 14:19 min). Then his career took him to North America, where he triggered a running boom. He also competed in Australia and New Zealand and thus became the first international sports star, especially his races against relays and horses made him famous. In his attempts over stretches of more than 10 miles in length, however, he was inferior to the legendary Indian Tom Longboat , against whom he competed a total of ten times.

Professionally, Alfred Shrubb made a name for himself primarily as a trainer. From 1908 to 1911 he worked at Harvard University in Boston and from 1919 to 1928 at the University of Oxford . Athletes supervised by him started at the Olympic Games in 1920, 1924 and 1928. His greatest successes included the world record set at the Penn Relays over 4 × 880 yards and the Olympic victory by Bevil Rudd .

In addition, Shrubb wrote two highly regarded books on the subject of training theory:

  • Running and Cross Country Running . London (Health and Strength Ltd.) 1908
  • Long-distance running . Toronto (Imperial News Company) 1909

Alfred Shrubb finally moved to Canada in 1928 . He was married to Ada Brown. The marriage had three children: son Roy and daughters Nancy and Norah.

It is still unforgotten today: The " Alfie Shrubb 8k Classic " is held every year in Bowmanville . At the first event in 2003, his very old (89 years) daughter Norah Allin gave the official starting shot.

title

British Championships

  • 1901
  • 1902
    • 4 miles in 20: 01.4 min and
    • 10 miles in 52: 25.6 minutes at Stamford Bridge
    • English National Cross Championships and
    • Southern Cross Championships at Lingfield Park
  • 1903
    • 1 mile in 4: 24.0 min,
    • 4 miles in 20: 06.0 min and
    • 10 miles in 51: 55.8 min in Northampton
    • English National Cross Championships and
    • Southern Cross Championships at Haydock Park
  • 1904
    • 1 mile in 4: 22.0 min,
    • 4 miles in 19: 56.8 min and
    • 10 miles in 54: 30.4 min in Rochdale
    • English National Cross Championships in Wolverhampton
    • Southern Cross Championships at Lingfield Park


Cross of Nations

World records

route power date place
2000 yards 5: 07.2 min September 26, 1903 Stamford Bridge
1.25 miles 5: 40.2 min September 26, 1903 Stamford Bridge
5: 37.0 min June 11, 1904 Glasgow
1.5 miles 6: 50.0 min May 30, 1904 Ilford
6: 47.6 min September 26, 1903 Stamford Bridge
1.75 miles 8: 21.0 min June 11, 1904 Glasgow
2 miles 9: 17.0 min September 12, 1903 Kennington oval
9: 11.0 min May 30, 1903 Ilford
9: 09.6 min May 11, 1904 Glasgow
4000 yards 10: 57.6 min September 27, 1902 Stamford Bridge
3 miles 14: 25.0 min July 19, 1902 Chelmsford
14: 22.4 min August 1903 Horsham
14: 17.6 min May 21, 1903 Stamford Bridge
14: 17.2 min August 27, 1904 Abergavenny
5000 m 15: 03.0 min June 15, 1903 Glasgow
14: 59.0 min June 13, 1904 Glasgow
4 miles 19: 31.6 min October 25, 1902 Brighton
19: 26.8 min September 20, 1902 Reigate
19: 23.4 min June 13, 1904 Glasgow
5 miles 24: 33.4 min May 12, 1904 Stamford Bridge
6 miles 29: 59.4 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
10,000 m 31: 02.4 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
7 miles 35: 04.6 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
8 miles 40: 16.0 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
9 miles 45: 27.6 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
10 miles 50: 40.6 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
11 miles 56.23.4 min 5th November 1904 Glasgow
Hour run 18 738 m 5th November 1904 Glasgow

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Arnd Krüger (1998): Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in the training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997), in: N. GISSEL (Hrsg.): Sportliche Leistungs im Wandel . Hamburg: Czwalina, pp. 41 - 56.
  2. ↑ ALFRED SHRUBB: THE LITTLE WONDER ( Memento from May 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

literature

  • Rob Hadgraft: THE LITTLE WONDER. The Untold Story of Alfred Shrubb World Champion Runner. Southend-on-Sea 2004 (Desert Island Books)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Shrubb, Alfred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shrubb, Alfie (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British athlete
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Slinfold , Sussex , UK
DATE OF DEATH April 23, 1964
Place of death Bowmanville , Canada