Joseph Deakin

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Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Gold	1908 London	3 mile team

Joseph Edmund "Joe" Deakin (born February 6, 1879 in Shelton, Staffordshire - died June 30, 1972 in Dulwich) was a British athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

Joe Deakin served with the Rifle Brigade and fought in the Boer War. During this time he set South African records at both the 880 yards and 1 mile. He won the Irish 1 mile and 4 mile titles whilst posted to Ireland in 1901. Returning to England, he joined Herne Hill Harriers in 1903 and soon established a reputation as one of the country's finest cross-country runners. He finished second in the English national cross-country championships in 1907 and showed sufficient form in track races during the early part of the 1908 season to be selected to race in three events at the Olympic Games.

Deakin won his first round heat of the 1500 metres with a time of 4:13.6. Despite being one of the slowest first round winners, Deakin won by seventy-five yards. His time in the final was better, though he still finished sixth at 4:07.9. The next morning Deakin led the British team home to victory in the 3 mile team race. After a celebratory lunch, complete with champagne refreshment, he lined for the heats of the five mile race. Unsuprisingly, he dropped out of the race before the finish.

Deakin joined Surrey AC after the Olympics and competed for his new club in the Polytechnic Marathon. He finished in 20th place. After service in World War One, which saw him temporarily blinded, he returned to racing and improved his previous marathon performancee by finishing 8th in the 1920 "Poly". He continued in competition as a veteran and his last race was not until the eve of his 90th birthday. He died just three years after his last outing.

[edit] References

• Buchanan, Ian (1991). British Olympians. Guinness. 
• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association. 
• De Wael, Herman (2001). Athletics 1908. Herman's Full Olympians. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich. Retrieved on July 30, 2007. (Polish)

Persondata
NAME	Deakin, Joseph Edmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British athlete
DATE OF BIRTH	February 6, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH	June 30, 1972
PLACE OF DEATH