Sydney Wooderson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sydney Charles Wooderson MBE (born August 30, 1914) , was an English athlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of Britain’s greatest middle-distance runners and had an amazing sprint finish.
He set the world mile record of 4min 6.4sec at London’s Motspur Park on August 28, 1938. This record stood for nearly five years.
[edit] Career
Born in Camberwell, London, he was 5ft 6in and weighed less than 9st. At 18 he became the first British schoolboy to break 4min 30sec for the mile. He won the British mile title for the five years up to the outbreak of the war in 1939.
At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, he suffered an ankle injury and failed to qualify for the final. However, in 1937, after surgery, his performance increased and culminated in his world mile record of 1938. Also in 1938, he set world records in the 800m and 880 yards with times of 1min 48.4sec and 1min 49.2sec respectively.
Immediately after the war, in 1945, he ran his fastest mile, 4min 4.2sec, just behind Arne Andersson of Sweden. In Oslo at the 1946 European Championships, when he won the 5,000m in 14min 8.6sec, the second-fastest time to that point.
He was awarded an MBE in the 2000 Birthday Honours List for services to Blackheath Harriers and athletics.
Sydney is now in his nineties and lives in Devon in the South of England. He remains a life member of Blackheath Harriers.
[edit] References
- Times article
- Biography at the Blackheath Harriers webpage
- Thurlow, David , "Sydney Wooderson – Forgotten Champion" , (55 pages) available from Brian A Saxton, 56 Bourne Way, Hayes, Kent, BR2 7EY
