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Albert Hill (athlete)

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For other people named Albert Hill, see Albert Hill (disambiguation).

Albert Hill
Hill at the 1920 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameAlbert George Hill
Born24 March 1889
Tooting, London, UK
Died8 January 1969 (aged 79)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)800 m, 1500 m
ClubPolytechnic Harriers, London
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)800 m – 1:53.4 (1920)
1000 yd – 2:15.0 (1920)
1500 m – 4:01.8 (1920)
Mile – 4:13.8 (1921)
Medal record
Representing  United Kingdom
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1920 Antwerp 800 metres
Gold medal – first place 1920 Antwerp 1500 metres
Silver medal – second place 1920 Antwerp 3000 m team

Albert George Hill (24 March 1889 – 8 January 1969) was a British track and field athlete.[1][2] He competed at the 1920 Olympics and won gold medals in the 800 m and 1500 m and a silver medal in the 3000 m team race.[3]

Biography

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Hill started out as a long-distance runner, winning the British AAA championships over 4 miles at the 1910 AAA Championships.[4][5]

During World War I he served with the Royal Flying Corps in France, and after the war changed to middle-distance running. Coached by Sam Mussabini (coach of 100 m Olympic Champions Reggie Walker and Harold Abrahams), he won the 880 yd and 1 mile at the 1919 AAA Championships[6] and then equalled the British record of 4:16.8 for 1 mile. He nearly was not selected for the Olympics the following year, the selectors considering the 31-year-old Hill too old. Finally, he was allowed to take part at the Olympics, which were held in Antwerp, Belgium. He made the final in the 800m, which was a closely contested race. In the end, the 31-year-old Hill beat American Earl Eby for the gold, setting a British record of 1:53.4 on a slow track.[3]

Two days later, Hill completed the middle distance double by winning the 1500 m as well, thus completing a "double" not replicated by a British athlete until Kelly Holmes at the 2004 Olympics. Helped by his compatriot, Philip Baker (who would receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1959), he won comfortably, with Baker in second in a time of 4:01.8. Hill also competed in the 3000 m team race event, in which the British team finished second, earning Hill's third Olympic medal.[3]

Hill won the 1921 AAA mile championship in a British record of 4:13.8, this was 1.2 seconds outside the world record and the second fastest amateur time ever. Hill ended his running career in 1921 and became a coach himself, his most famous protégé being Sydney Wooderson. He emigrated to Canada shortly after World War II, and died there in 1969.[3]

In 2010, he was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

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  1. ^ "Albert Hill". Olympedia. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Remembering Albert Hill's Olympic double, on its 100th anniversary | NEWS | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Albert Hill". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Athletics". Evening Star. 3 July 1910. Retrieved 1 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "AAA Championships". The Scotsman. 4 July 1910. Retrieved 1 November 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 1 November 2024.

Further reading

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  • Nelson, Cordner and Quercentani, Roberto (1985): The Milers
  • Watman, Mel (1981): Encyclopedia of Track and Field Athletics
  • Peter Matthews & Ian Buchanan (1995): All-Time Greats of British & Irish Sport
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