Walter George
Walter George ( Walter Goodall George ; born September 9, 1858 in the county of Wiltshire , † June 4, 1943 ) was a British medium and long-distance runner who set a world record of 4:12 3/4 minutes in the mile run in 1886 , which was not until 1915 by Norman Taber ( USA ) was improved by a tenth of a second (4: 12.6).
From 1880 to 1886, Walter George set a total of 26 world records in various running disciplines from 1000 yards to the hour . With a height of 1.81 m, he had a competition weight of 62 kg.
Life
Walter George was active at a time when there was a strict separation between amateurs and professionals in Great Britain. The years around 1880 were the heyday of so-called "Pedestrianism". Professional runners ran races on which bets were placed. Competitions between professionals and amateurs were banned by the AAA (Amateur Athletics Association).
George set three amateur world records over the mile between 1880 and 1884. Soon he found no more competitors in the amateur camp who could have spurred him on to further improve his time of 4:18 2/5 minutes. In the professional runners' camp, the Scot William Cummings , who had broken the professional world record in 1885 to 4:16 1/5 minutes, was in an even worse situation. He was so far superior to his competitors that betting on his races was no longer possible.
In 1882, George applied for an exemption from the AAA to run against Cummings, which he was denied. In 1885, partly due to a debt of 1000 pounds, he took action and turned professional. In 1885 and 1886, George and Cummings ran two series with three races each on different tracks against each other.
The highlight of this series was the mile race on August 23, 1886 in London. George led the run to the third lap, but Cummings stayed close on his heels. At the beginning of the final lap, Cummings took the lead and ran out a seven-meter lead, which he couldn't keep. George caught up and passed him 55 yards from the target. Cummings collapsed exhausted and George crossed the target tape after 4:12 3/4 minutes, improving Cummings world record by more than three seconds. This race was and is often referred to as the “race of the century”. Along with the decline of the "Pedestrianism" it took almost 30 years before the official world record of the IAAF was faster than Georges professional world record.
literature
- Edward Seldon Sears: Walter George - Father of the Mile Foot-Race , In: Running through the ages , McFarland 2001, ISBN 0786409711 , pp. 115–122, online at books.google.de (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | George, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | George, Walter Goodall (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British middle and long distance runner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 9, 1858 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wiltshire county |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 4, 1943 |