Ken Wood (athlete)

Kenneth Wood (21 November 1930 - 8 September 2008) was a British middle-distance runner. He ran one of the early Four-minute mile runs and represented Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Ken Wood
Personal information
Born21 November 1930
Died8 September 2008 (aged 77)
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportMiddle-distance running
ClubSheffield United Harriers

Career

Wood competed with the Sheffield United Harriers athletic club. Between 1954 and 1961 he won the Emsley Carr Mile a record four times. In this period he was selected to run for Great Britain in the 1956 Olympic 1500 metres finishing ninth in the final. [1] Wood won the mile event at the AAA Championships in 1956 and 1959. [2] In May 1955 Wood finished second in a two-mile race behind Sándor Iharos both breaking the world two mile outdoor record. Woods time being 8:34.8. [3]

He became the fourteenth athlete (the fifth from the UK) to officially run a Four-minute mile, achieving a time of 3:59.3 on 19 July 1957.[4] He in fact finished fourth behind Derek Ibbotson, who set a new British record, Ron Delany and Stanislav Jungwirth. [5] [6]

On the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister's first Four-minute mile, Wood claimed he had previously run under four minutes on 7 April 1954. [7] [8] This unofficial run being timed by explorer and then Sheffield University student Roy Koerner.

Wood died in September 2008.[9]

Record
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1954Emsley Carr MileWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:04.8
1955Emsley Carr MileWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:05.4
May 1955Athletics MeetingLondon2ndTwo miles8:34.8 (Won by Sándor Iharos (8:33.4) )
1956AAA ChampionshipsWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:06.8
Dec 1956Athletics at the 1956 Summer OlympicsMelbourne, Australia9th1500m3:46:6 (Won by Ron Delany (3:41.49) )
July 1957Athletics MeetingWhite City Stadium, London4thMile3:59.3 (Won by Derek Ibbotson (3:57.2) )
1957Emsley Carr MileWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:02.0
1959AAA ChampionshipsWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:08.1
1961Emsley Carr MileWhite City Stadium, London1stMile4:08.4

References
  1. "Ken Wood". sports-reference. sports-reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  2. "BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1945-1959". GBRathletics. GBRathletics. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  3. "Track feats bolster US olympic hopes". archives.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. "Sub-4 Register in Date Sequence". Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  5. "Alan Gordon". Scottish Distance Running History. Scottish Distance Running History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  6. "Racing Past - Derek Ibbotson". Racing Past. Racing Past. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  7. Turnbull, Simon (11 April 2004). "Athletics: The four-minute miler who beat Bannister by 29 days". Independent. Independent Newspapers. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  8. Davies, Catriona (12 April 2004). "Did another runner pip Sir Roger?". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  9. "Mile champ Ken dies at age of 77". TheStar. The Star. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
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