Henry Stallard
Hyla Bristow "Henry" Stallard (born April 28, 1901 in Leeds , West Yorkshire , † October 21, 1973 in Hartfield , East Sussex ) was a British middle-distance runner who was successful in the early 1920s.
education and profession
Stallard studied medicine at Gonville and Caius College , Cambridge and later worked in London as an ophthalmologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital . In 1972 he was appointed President of the British Ophthalmic Society .
Athletic career
Henry Stallard made his first appearance at Oxbridge Sports Day , where he was victorious over the mile three times in a row - 1920, 1921 and 1922. He was also on the podium three times in a row at the British national championships:
- 1923: Champion over 1 mile (4: 21.6 min)
- 1924: Master over 880 yards (1: 54.6 min)
- 1925: Champion over 440 yards (50.0 s)
In 1921 he was runner-up over 1 mile, where he, like the winner Albert Hill, remained below the previous national record and improved his personal best by around eight seconds in 4: 14.2 minutes.
He decided not to start in 1926 after donating blood to a patient at his hospital shortly beforehand.
In 1924 he took part in the Olympic Games in Paris , where he competed in the 800 and 1500 meters . Over 800 meters he won both the preliminary and the intermediate run. In the final he ran a personal best of 1: 53.0 min, but had the misfortune to be relegated to fourth place by centimeters by the American Schuyler Enck at the same time . It got even worse for him in the run over 1500 meters. Although he finished first in 4: 11.8 minutes, he suffered a stress fracture in his right foot. Despite this handicap, he entered the final. Here the Finn Paavo Nurmi triumphed , leaving the Swiss Willy Schärer 1.4 seconds behind in the Olympic record time of 3: 53.6 minutes . Henry Stallard ran with the courage of desperation - he had been refused an analgesic injection - and made the impossible possible: He ousted the Olympic champion over 800 meters, his compatriot Douglas Lowe , from the medal ranks and set a British with 3: 55.6 minutes National record. For this he was rewarded with the bronze medal.
Henry Stallard was 1.86 m tall and weighed 72 kg.
Records
- Junior record over 1 mile in 4: 27.5 min (1920)
- British record over 1500 m in 3: 55.6 min (1924)
- World record of 4 × 880 yds at Penn Relays (1920)
Personal best
- 440 yds: 50.0 s, 1925
- 800 m: 1: 53.0 min, 1924
- 1500 m: 3: 55.6 min, 1924
- 1 mile: 4: 14.2 min, 1921
Web links
- Henry Stallard in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stallard, Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stallard, Hyla Bristow |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British middle distance runner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 28, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leeds , West Yorkshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 21, 1973 |
| Place of death | Hartfield , East Sussex |