William Roberts (athlete)
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1936 Berlin | 4x400 m relay | |
William "Bill" Roberts (April 5, 1912 – December 5, 2001) was a British athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x400 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Born in Salford, Lancashire, William Roberts won the British AAA championships in 440 yd (400 m) in 1935 and 1937.
At the 1934 British Empire Games, Roberts finished second in 440 yd (400 m) behind Godfrey Rampling, but turned the silver into the gold medal in the next British Empire Games in 1938 in Sydney, Australia. He also won a silver in 4x440 yd relay event.
At the Berlin Olympics, Roberts just missed the medal in the individual 400 m event, finishing fourth in the final, and ran the third leg in the gold medal winning British 4x400 m relay team.
After the World War II and a service in the RAF, Roberts came back to track to win the silver medal at the 1946 European Championships, as a member of British 4x400 m relay team.
At the 1948 Summer Olympics, Roberts was chosen as Great Britain's athletics team captain, but he was eliminated in the heats of 400 m and anchored the British 4x400 m relay team to a fourth place in their heat.
After his retirement from athletics in 1949, he worked as a columnist for the "Manchester Evening News". William Roberts died in Timperley, Manchester, aged 89.
