Sydney Charles WoodersonMBE (30 August 1914 – 21 December 2006), dubbed "The Mighty Atom", was an Englishathlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Camberwell, London, he was 5 ft 6 in and weighed less than 9 stone (126 lbs). He attended Sutton Valence School, Kent. At 18 he became the first British schoolboy to break 4min 30sec for the mile. He won the British mile title for the five years up to the outbreak of the war in 1939. In 1934 he won the silver medal in the one mile event at the British Empire Games.
At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, he suffered an ankle injury and failed to qualify for the 1500 metres final.[1] However, in 1937, after surgery, his performance increased and culminated in his world mile record of 4:06.4 in 1937. In 1938 he set world records in the 800 m and 880 yards with times of 1:48.4 and 1:49.2, respectively.
Off the track Wooderson was a City of Londonsolicitor and missed the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney because he was taking his law finals.
Immediately after the war, however, in 1945, he ran his fastest mile, 4:04.2, just behind Arne Andersson of Sweden. In Oslo at the 1946 European Championships, he won the 5,000 m in 14:08.6, the second-fastest time to that point. His versatility was demonstrated when he won the national cross-country title in 1948.
He was the natural choice to carry the Olympic torch into Wembley Stadium for the 1948 Summer Olympics. However he was turned away at the last minute because members of the organising committee wanted a more handsome final runner. They chose the relatively unknown John Mark instead.[3]
Wooderson lived in retirement in Dorset in the South of England. He remained a life member of Blackheath Harriers and was twice its president. He died on Thursday 21 December 2006 in a nursing home at Wareham, Dorset. His ashes are interred in the churchyard of Lady St. Mary's Church, Wareham.
In 2018 the first full-length biography of Wooderson was published - 'Sydney Wooderson: A Very British Hero' (Book Guild)- written by Rob Hadgraft, author of previous works on runners Alf Shrubb, Walter George, 'Deerfoot', Jim Peters and Arthur Newton. The Wooderson title runs to 400-plus pages and was highly acclaimed in the sporting press.
^The Times Obituary 22 December 2006 "Though the modest little hero insisted he did not feel snubbed, the late Commander Bill Collins, who organised the 1948 Olympic torch relay, is on record that "such was the then organising committee’s obsession with a handsome final runner to light the Olympic flame that even the then Queen remarked to me ‘Of course we couldn’t have had poor little Sydney . . . "
^United Kingdom: "No. 55879". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 19 June 2000. p. 24.
Further readingedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney Wooderson.
Obituaries
The Times – 23 December 2006.
– By Jason Henderson, 22 December 2006
Daily Telegraph[dead link]Britain loses its first great miler By Tom Knight 22 December 2006
Hardloopnieuws Netherlands by Tom Knight, 2006-12-22
International Association of Athletics Federations – IAAF by Steven Downes, 8 January 2007
Sports Journalists Association 23 January 2007. Contains a detailed description of his world record breaking run.
Dorset Echo Death of ‘hero’ runner Sydney By Juliette Astrup, 29 December 2006. Contains a recent photograph of Sydney Wooderson.
Other
'Sydney Wooderson - A Very British Hero' (Book Guild, 2018) by Rob Hadgraft. 406 pages, illustrated. ISBN978-1-912575-35-0.
Times article When did Sydney Wooderson break the world mile record? Questions & Answers, 27 November 2005
Biography at the Blackheath Harriers webpage
Thurlow, David, "Sydney Wooderson – Forgotten Champion", (55 pages) available from Brian A Saxton, 56 Bourne Way, Hayes, Kent, BR2 7EY
sydney, wooderson, sydney, charles, wooderson, august, 1914, december, 2006, dubbed, mighty, atom, english, athlete, whose, peak, career, 1930s, 1940s, mbepersonal, informationborn30, august, 1914camberwell, greater, london, great, britaindied21, december, 200. Sydney Charles Wooderson MBE 30 August 1914 21 December 2006 dubbed The Mighty Atom was an English athlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s Sydney WoodersonMBEPersonal informationBorn30 August 1914Camberwell Greater London Great BritainDied21 December 2006 aged 92 Wareham Dorset EnglandHeight1 68 m 5 ft 6 in Weight56 kg 123 lb SportSportAthleticsEvent400 5000 mClubBlackheath HarriersAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 440 yd 49 3 1938 800 m 1 48 4 1938 1500 m 3 48 4 1945 Mile 4 04 2 1945 5000 m 14 08 6 1946 1 2 Medal record Representing EnglandBritish Empire Games1934 London 1 mileRepresenting Great BritainEuropean Championships1938 Paris 1500 metres1946 Oslo 5000 metresHe set the world mile record of 4 06 4 at London s Motspur Park on 28 August 1937 This record stood for nearly five years Contents 1 Career 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksCareer editBorn in Camberwell London he was 5 ft 6 in and weighed less than 9 stone 126 lbs He attended Sutton Valence School Kent At 18 he became the first British schoolboy to break 4min 30sec for the mile He won the British mile title for the five years up to the outbreak of the war in 1939 In 1934 he won the silver medal in the one mile event at the British Empire Games At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin he suffered an ankle injury and failed to qualify for the 1500 metres final 1 However in 1937 after surgery his performance increased and culminated in his world mile record of 4 06 4 in 1937 In 1938 he set world records in the 800 m and 880 yards with times of 1 48 4 and 1 49 2 respectively Off the track Wooderson was a City of London solicitor and missed the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney because he was taking his law finals His poor eyesight ruled him out of active service during the Second World War He joined the Royal Pioneer Corps and was a firefighter during the Blitz and then later in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a radar operator In 1944 he spent several months in hospital suffering from rheumatic fever and was warned by doctors he might never run again Immediately after the war however in 1945 he ran his fastest mile 4 04 2 just behind Arne Andersson of Sweden In Oslo at the 1946 European Championships he won the 5 000 m in 14 08 6 the second fastest time to that point His versatility was demonstrated when he won the national cross country title in 1948 He was the natural choice to carry the Olympic torch into Wembley Stadium for the 1948 Summer Olympics However he was turned away at the last minute because members of the organising committee wanted a more handsome final runner They chose the relatively unknown John Mark instead 3 He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE in the 2000 Birthday Honours for services to Blackheath Harriers and athletics 4 Wooderson lived in retirement in Dorset in the South of England He remained a life member of Blackheath Harriers and was twice its president He died on Thursday 21 December 2006 in a nursing home at Wareham Dorset His ashes are interred in the churchyard of Lady St Mary s Church Wareham In 2018 the first full length biography of Wooderson was published Sydney Wooderson A Very British Hero Book Guild written by Rob Hadgraft author of previous works on runners Alf Shrubb Walter George Deerfoot Jim Peters and Arthur Newton The Wooderson title runs to 400 plus pages and was highly acclaimed in the sporting press References edit a b Sydney Wooderson sports reference com Sydney Wooderson trackfield brinkster net The Times Obituary 22 December 2006 Though the modest little hero insisted he did not feel snubbed the late Commander Bill Collins who organised the 1948 Olympic torch relay is on record that such was the then organising committee s obsession with a handsome final runner to light the Olympic flame that even the then Queen remarked to me Of course we couldn t have had poor little Sydney United Kingdom No 55879 The London Gazette 1st supplement 19 June 2000 p 24 Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney Wooderson Obituaries The Times 23 December 2006 Athletics Weekly By Jason Henderson 22 December 2006 Daily Telegraph dead link Britain loses its first great miler By Tom Knight 22 December 2006 Hardloopnieuws Netherlands by Tom Knight 2006 12 22 International Association of Athletics Federations IAAF by Steven Downes 8 January 2007 Sports Journalists Association 23 January 2007 Contains a detailed description of his world record breaking run Dorset Echo Death of hero runner Sydney By Juliette Astrup 29 December 2006 Contains a recent photograph of Sydney Wooderson Other Sydney Wooderson A Very British Hero Book Guild 2018 by Rob Hadgraft 406 pages illustrated ISBN 978 1 912575 35 0 Times article When did Sydney Wooderson break the world mile record Questions amp Answers 27 November 2005 Biography at the Blackheath Harriers webpage Thurlow David Sydney Wooderson Forgotten Champion 55 pages available from Brian A Saxton 56 Bourne Way Hayes Kent BR2 7EYExternal links editSydney Wooderson at Olympedia nbsp Sydney Wooderson at the Commonwealth Games Federation archived nbsp RecordsPreceded by nbsp Elroy Robinson Men s 800 metres World Record Holder20 August 1938 15 June 1939 Succeeded by nbsp Rudolf HarbigPreceded by nbsp Glenn Cunningham Men s Mile World Record Holder28 August 1937 1 July 1942 Succeeded by nbsp Gunder HaggPreceded by nbsp Tommy Hampson European Record Holder Men s 800m20 August 1938 14 July 1939 Succeeded by nbsp Rudolf Harbig Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sydney Wooderson amp oldid 1185074679, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
