Harry Hill (cyclist)

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Competitor for United Kingdom
Olympic medal record
Men’s Cycling
Bronze	1936 Berlin	4000m Team Pursuit Men

For the comedian, see Harry Hill.

Harold "Harry" Heaton Hill (born May 8, 1916) is a British cyclist who competed in the Olympic games in 1936. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 4000m Team Pursuit in Berlin, along with teammates Ernest Mills, Ernest Johnson and Charles King.^[1] Hill never met his father, who died during World War I in Africa, and he was raised by his mother in Sheffield. Too poor to get to London any other way, Hill bicycled the 200 miles to the city using the bike that he planned to ride during the Olympic games.^[2]

Upon returning to Britain after the Olympics, Hill bicycled 170 miles towards his hometown. Having bought an Olympic souvenir jacket, he had no money left for food and, weak from hunger, was forced to hitch a ride for the last 30 miles of his journey. After winning the bronze medal, Hill became the first person to cycle 25 miles in an hour on an indoor track in Milan in 1937. He was scheduled to compete at 1939 World Track Championships before they were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II. During the conflict, he built submarines in Barrow and, afterwards, ran a garage shop in Manchester. At the age of 60, he cycled across North America.^[2]^[3]

Hill, who is a father of five children, claims to have never smoked nor drank alcohol and, up until 2004 when he fractured his hip during a fall in Spain, he had biked every day of his life since the age of thirteen. On March 23, 2005 he attended a reception headed by Queen Elizabeth II honouring 100 years of the British Olympic Association. At age 92, Hill is the second-oldest living male British Olympic medalist, behind Godfrey Rampling.^[2]