Achilles Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Achilles Club, which traces its roots back to the first Varsity Sports of 1864, was formed in 1920 by and for past and present representatives of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Members have won 19 Olympic Gold Medals (most recently Steph Cook in the modern pentathlon), and held 38 World Records.
In the amateur age between the Wars the Club was the strongest in Britain. Its members enjoyed more opportunity for training than most, and made up the greater part of the British Olympic team. Champions like Harold Abrahams, Lord Burghley and Jack Lovelock (New Zealand) were household names, but they supported the Club’s regular exhibition matches against schools throughout the country, to encourage the growth of the sport. Very popular books passing on their expertise were published, and members contributed at the highest national and international level as coaches, promoters, and administrators.
After the Second World War, Achilles athletes remained to the fore. Roger Bannister’s achievements captured the imagination of the whole world; Chris Chataway was the darling of the White City; and Chris Brasher struck Olympic gold in Melbourne. By then, however, more clubs were forming as tracks were constructed around Britain. Participation in athletics soared, and with it standards of performance, while at the Universities academic pressures assumed a greater significance.
Nevertheless the Achilles Club still thrives. In the last 10 years Club teams have competed in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Germany and France; and the continuing series of reciprocal matches against Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League Universities, predating the modern Olympic Games, celebrated its centenary in 1995. Members like Jon Ridgeon, Craig Masback (USA) and Richard Nerurkar continue to make their mark on the world stage, both as competitors and as administrators.
