Frederick Norris (4 September 1921 – 13 December 2006) was a British

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

Athletics career

Born in

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wig ...

, Norris competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Fred Norris was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. He left school at 14 to work in a machine shop before moving to Cleworth Hall Colliery in Tyldesley where he worked underground. As a young man he played football for local teams but switched to running after watching a newsreel film of

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final ...

's 10,000 metres victory in the 1948 London Olympics. He joined Leigh Harriers and then Bolton Harriers, training on the streets of Tyldesley in the early mornings before working 900 feet underground and running another eight to ten miles in the evenings. Norris was seventh behind Zatopek in the 10,000 metres at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and ran in the marathon a Melbourne in 1956. He held 54 English, British, Commonwealth and European records and in 1959 won the International Cross Country Championships. He was injured and missed the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. He moved to America where he had a successful career before retiring aged 42. In 1962 at age 40 ran a 4:21.9 mile (Masters Mile World Record), and he set a McNeese State school record in the two-mile 9:07.3. In 1986 he returned to Tyldesley and died there in 2006. He won the bronze medal at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropolita ...

, behind two Soviet runners: Sergei Popov and Ivan Filin. He competed in two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

(1952, 1956). He represented England in the 6 miles at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games 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 Ki ...

, Wales. Norris appeared on an episode of TV's To Tell The Truth in 1961 as himself. He can be seen in film held by the Cinema Museum in London of the 1952 English Nationals Ref HMO362.

References

External links

ARRS.net
* 1921 births 2006 deaths People from Tyldesley Sportspeople from Wigan English male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games International Cross Country Championships winners Commonwealth Games competitors for England {{England-athletics-bio-stub