Paul Nihill

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Vincent Paul Nihill (born September 5, 1939 in Colchester ) is a retired British athlete . With a height of 1.80 m, his competition weight was 66 kg.

Paul Nihill was one of the most successful English walkers in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Career

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 Nihill won the silver medal in the 50 km walk in 4: 11: 31.2 hours behind the Italian Abdon Pamich in 4: 11: 12.4 hours. Four years later, at the 1968 Olympic Games , he gave up competition over the same distance in the mountain air of Mexico City.

In Athens at the European Championships in 1969 , Nihill took the lead halfway through the 20 km competition and ultimately won in 1: 30: 48.0 hours ahead of the Romanian Leonida Caraiosifoglu in 1: 31: 06.4 hours and Nikolai Smaga from the Soviet Union. In 1971 at the European Championships in Helsinki , Smaga won in 1: 27: 20.2 hours ahead of Gerhard Sperling from the GDR in 1: 27: 29.0 hours, while Paul Nihill won bronze in 1: 27: 34.8 hours.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , Nihill competed on both walking distances. On August 31, he was sixth over 20 km in 1: 28: 44.4 hours, on September 3 he was ninth over 50 km after 4: 14: 09.4 hours.

In 1976 in Montreal, Nihill started his fourth Olympic Games and finished 30th over 20 km in 1: 36: 40.4 hours.

Paul Nihill won a total of 27 titles in British championships between 1963 and 1975. In 1968 he managed to become champion on four road distances (20 km, 50 km, 10 miles and 20 miles).

From December 1967 until he was given up in Mexico City, he won 35 consecutive competitions. He then won a further 51 competitions by June 1970. In total, he won 355 competitions between 1960 and 1977.

Best times

(metric distances only)

  • 3000 meters walking by the train: 11: 51.2 min (1971) world record
  • 5000 meters of walking: 20: 14.2 min (1972) world record
  • 10,000 meters walk: 42: 34.6 min (1972)
  • 20 km street walking: 1:24:50 h (1972)
  • 50 km of street walking: 4:11:31 h (1964)

literature

  • Peter Matthews and Ian Buchanan: All Time Greats of British and Irish Sports , Enfield 1995 ISBN 0-85112-678-2
personal data
SURNAME Nihill, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nihill, Vincent Paul (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British athlete
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Colchester