David Henry Jacobs (30 April 1888 – 6 June 1976) was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
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* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
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* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
-born
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 ...
sprint
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*Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design
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er. He was the first
British Jew
British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British people, British citizens who identify as Jews, Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 ...
to win an
Olympic gold medal
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* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
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.
[
He was born in ]Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, to John Jacobs (previously Yaakov), who was a general dealer from London. His athletics career started in London with Herne Hill Harriers The Herne Hill Harriers is an amateur athletics sports club based at Tooting Bec Athletics Track in Tooting Bec, London. The club was founded in the Herne Hill district of London in 1889. The club caters to all levels and ages of track, field, road ...
in 1908. His interest in athletics was aroused by watching the 1908 Olympic Games
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
.
At the 1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
in Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Jacobs won a gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
as the first leg in the British 4 × 100 m relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
team, in spite of finishing second behind the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the semifinals. The United States was later disqualified for a fault in passing the baton, the same mistake made in the finals by the 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 ...
holder and main favourite German
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* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
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**Ger ...
team.
Jacobs also competed in the 100m and 200m individual events, but was eliminated in the semifinals.[
Although many times a Welsh champion, Jacobs never succeeded in winning an AAA title. He retired from active sport after ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.[
He died suddenly in Aberconwy, aged 88, while on holiday from his London home. His body was returned to London, where he was buried in a Jewish cemetery,][ at ]East Ham
East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186.
It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...
. At the time of his death he was Britain's oldest Olympic gold medalist.
See also
* Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film ''Chariots of Fire''.
Biography
Early life
A ...
, British Jewish sprint champion in 1924 Olympics
* ''Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...
'', award-winning 1981 film depicting Abrahams' story
References
1888 births
1976 deaths
Sportspeople from Cardiff
Welsh male sprinters
Jewish male athletes (track and field)
Welsh Jews
Olympic athletes of Great Britain
Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
Welsh Olympic medallists
Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
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