William Frank

athletics
bronze	1906	marathon

William "Billy" Frank (born December 12, 1879 in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , † April 3, 1965 ) was an American long-distance runner .

As a middle name Christian can be read occasionally , but in publications during his lifetime he was only called William G Frank or WG Frank .

Frank had joined the police force early and was employed by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) as an unrated police officer on patrol duty with a bicycle. He was also a member of the Twenty Second Regiment of the National Guard of the State of New York , the National Guard of the US state of New York . As a police officer and guardsman, he also took part in regional sports competitions that were specially organized for this group of people.

He competed in his first competitions in 1898 as a cyclist in indoor track races . In 1901 he won a national championship title among amateurs , so that from then on he was in the foreground at cycling events.

In 1904, Frank attracted particular attention when, after winning a bike race over two miles (3,218 meters), he got off his bike and immediately went to the start of a mile run in which he finished third. In 1905, Frank received even more attention when he defeated national five-mile champion John Joyce in a three-mile (4,827-meter) run during a military competition .

Frank found acceptance into the Irish American Athletic Club in New York City , a very respected sports club at the time, in which many top athletes had come together. For the 1906 Olympic Intermediate Games , which were held in Athens, the club had selected a number of athletes, including William Frank.

On April 25, Frank started his first competition in Athens, the five-mile run. Frank and his two compatriots, who competed with him, revealed in this run an obvious weakness that American long-distance runners had compared to their international competition at that time. At no time did either of them play a significant role in the race. They were so far behind that their rankings were no longer recorded.

Frank 1907, winner of the team cross-country run

Frank's participation in the marathon on May 1st, the penultimate day of the Games, was a daring undertaking because he had never covered such a long distance before. But from the beginning he ran in the front field and after seven kilometers even took the lead with a small margin. After eleven kilometers, other runners were able to catch up, especially the eventual winner Billy Sherring , who ran together with Frank up to 29 kilometers at the top. With a "Well, good-bye, Bill" Sherring politely said goodbye and hurried alone to the top. Frank was then overtaken by John Svanberg , but saved third place with a 13 second lead over the next runner, Gustaf Törnros .

Placements at the Olympic Games:

• Olympic Intermediate Games 1906, Athens
  • Marathon - bronze with 3: 00: 46.8 h (gold to Billy Sherring from Canada with 2: 51: 23.6 h; silver to John Svanberg from Sweden with 2: 58: 20.8 h)
  • 5 miles - participated, placement unknown

Over the next two years, William Frank participated in a number of runs up to five miles, but with only moderate success. He also continued to compete in bicycle races, but was not very successful here either. Only in 1907 was he able to achieve the national team title in cross-country running with his comrades from his club .

In 1909 a decisive turning point occurred in the life of William Frank. He was accused and convicted of extortion. While on patrol, he stopped unsuspecting drivers and accused them of speeding. However, he wanted to refrain from filing a complaint and forget the matter if the driver deposited a few dollars in a certain place. The matter was discovered by two plainclothes policemen from whom Frank tried to extort money in this way.

From this point onwards nothing is known about the further life of William Frank.

Web links

• William Frank in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )