Charles Bennett (9 December 1871 – 18 December 1948) was a British athlete, winner of the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

and the first British

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete to become Olympic champion. He was a member of Finchley Harriers (founded 1877) which was amalgamated into Hillingdon Athletic Club in 1966.

Biography

Bennett, a train driver born in

Shapwick, Dorset Shapwick is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour five miles south-east of Blandford Forum and eight miles north of Poole. The village had a population of 190 in 2001. Within the parish, about a mil ...

, was one of the top British middle-distance runners in his years, winning the AAA championship in 1897, and the

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

title in 1899 and 1900. In the latter year, also the Olympic year, he won the British title in the mile, qualifying himself for the 1500 m in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. That distance had a rather weak field, and Bennett lead throughout the race, defeating local favourite

Henri Deloge Henri Léon Émile Deloge (21 November 1874 in Saint-Mandé – 27 December 1961 in Bourg-la-Reine) was a French middle distance runner who won a silver medal over 1500m in Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris ahead of John Bray. ...

in 4:06.0. That time was an official

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

, although many athletes had already run faster in competitions over the slightly longer mile. Together with the combined British/

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

team, Bennett won a second Olympic title. Bennett finished first in the race, with an unofficial world record 15:29.2, beating teammate John Rimmer. His third event was the 4000 m

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, in which he just failed to catch up with the same Rimmer in the final part of the race, settling for second place. Bennett died in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, aged 79. His Olympic achievements were largely forgotten for more than 100 years until his grandson Chris Bennett found his abandoned and overgrown grave in the corner of St Andrew's Churchyard in

Kinson Kinson is a former village which has been absorbed by the town of Bournemouth in the county of Dorset in England. The area became part of Bournemouth on 1 April 1931. There were two electoral wards containing the name Kinson (North & South). Thei ...

. In December 2011 Bennett was commemorated after Anthony Ives Memorials of Bournemouth donated a proper headstone to recognise his feat. The plinth, unveiled on the eve of the year of the London Olympics, reads: "In loving memory of Charles Bennett 1870-1948. First British track and field athlete to become Olympic Champion. Bennett, known as the Shapwick Express, won two gold medals and a silver at the Paris Games in 1900." The new headstone also remembers Bennett's wife Sarah Lena and reads: "Until the day break."

References

External links

*
Charles Bennett's profile at databaseOlympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Charles 1871 births 1948 deaths People from East Dorset District British male steeplechase runners English male middle-distance runners English male steeplechase runners English male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)