Harry Prowell A.A. (10 July 1936 – 27 June 2000) was a Guyanese

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

who represented

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

in the

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He is known to be one of the greatest long distance runners

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

has ever produced, setting the national record in 1968. To date, he is the only Guyanese ever to compete in the

at the

Summer Olympic Games 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 inau ...

and one of the most prominent

Indo-Caribbean Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...

long distance runners of his time. At the

British West Indies Championships The British West Indies Championships was an annual track and field competition between nations involved in the West Indies Federation and several other Caribbean nations with a British colonial history. Like the federation itself, the competition ...

he won the gold medal in the Men's 5000m in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

as well as the Gold in the 10,000m in

. He was a silver medalist in the Half-Marathon at the

games and won Silver at both the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

games in the Men's 5,000m and 10,000m events. Prowell ran the Men's 6 miles in the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. He also participated in the Men's 5000m 10,000m and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and represented

at the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

competing in the Men's 5,000m, 10,000m and the

. Prowell holds the Guyana National Track and Field Record in the Marathon with a personal best time of 2:39:11 set on 4 February 1968 in St. Georges, Grenada. He was awarded Guyana's National Sportsman of the Year in 1969 and received the Order of Service of Guyana (Grade II) known as the Golden Arrow of Achievement in 1970. Prowell died on 27 June 2000 at age 63 in Success, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.

Early life and career

Harry Prowell was born in La Bonne Intention (LBI) Estate, East Coast

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...

to Indo-Guyanese parents. LBI is a village 10 miles east of the capital

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

. He would often be seen running from LBI to Georgetown and back again. Known to the locals for his notorious

barefoot running Barefoot running, also called "natural running", is the act of running without footwear. With the advent of modern footwear, running barefoot has become less common in most parts of the world but is still practiced in parts of Africa and Latin A ...

style, he rose to prominence at St. Mary-Ye-Virgin Anglican School in

Beterverwagting Beterverwagting, also Betterverwagting or abbreviated to B.V., is a village in Guyana, on the East Coast of the Demerara River. History On 8 May 1839, 62 former slaves pooled their savings together and bought plantation Beterverwagting from Bar ...

. At the annual Inter Estate Athletics Championships, which was well organized and held at various Sugar Estate grounds across British Guiana, he became a household name for his success in

long distance running 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 ...

. At these early events he would race against his future nemesis, Moses Dwarika, who would later compete alongside him for

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

at the

International career

British Guiana

1958 British West Indies Championships

At the age of 22, Prowell qualified and represented

at the 1958 British West Indies Championships held in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. This would be his first international competition. He would go on to win the silver medal in the 5000m and 10,000m, setting personal best times of 15:15:00 and 31:57:03 respectively. This event showcased some of Guyana's greatest long distance runners. Prowell, Moses Dwarika, George de Peana and Ralph Gomes would go on to dominate Caribbean long distance athletics for the next decade.

1959 British West Indies Championships

Prowell won the silver medal in both the 5000m and 10,000m race in the

1959 British West Indies Championships The 1959 British West Indies Championships was the third edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Georgetown in British Guiana. A total of 27 events were contested, twenty-one by men ...

held in Georgetown, British Guiana.

1960 British West Indies Championships

He finally succeeded his fellow British Guianan, George de Peana, as the dominant long-distance runner by winning Gold in both the 5000m and 10,000m races at the

1960 British West Indies Championships The 1960 British West Indies Championships was the fourth edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica. A total of 31 events were contested, twenty-two by men and nine ...

held in Kingston, Jamaica. The

took a four-year hiatus. With the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

being dissolved, the 5th edition of the track and field competition for the

1964 British West Indies Championships The 1964 British West Indies Championships was the fifth edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. This marked the relaunching of the competition after a three-year break, during which the West Indie ...

took place in

. Prowell's 10,000 m race had been dropped and he did not compete in the games.

1965 British West Indies Championships

The

1965 British West Indies Championships The 1965 British West Indies Championships was the sixth and final edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Bridgetown, Barbados. The dissolution of the West Indies Federation, and t ...

was the sixth and final edition of the track and field competition between British colony nations in the Caribbean. It was held in Bridgetown, Barbados. Prowell won Gold again in the 5,000m which he had won when he last competed in the

event with a time of 15:30.5. He won the Silver in the 10,000m with a time of 1:14.06 behind fellow countryman Moses Dwarika who also hails from LBI. He won his 3rd Gold in the event with a time of 1:12:38.

Guyana

With

achieving independence from the United Kingdom in May 1966, Prowell would now represent the independent nation of

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Prowell participated in the

held in

from 4 to 13 August. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. He placed 11th out of 14 runners in the Men's 6 mile event with a time of 31:24 on 6 August 1966 at the Independent Park in Kingston, Jamaica. It was the last time that the imperial distance was contested at the Games later being replaced by the 10,000 metres.

1967 Pan American Games

In 1967, Prowell qualified for the

and participated in the Men's 10,000 metres on July 29, 1967, placing 8th out of 13 runners in the Final. He ran in the Men's 5000 metres and finished 10th with a time of 14.57.2 on August 2, 1967. He also ran the Men's marathon on August 5, 1967.

1968 Summer Olympic Games

At the age of 32, the highlight of Harry Prowell's career came with representing

at the

. The race was held on Sunday 20 October 1968 and started at 15.00h (3PM EST). There were a total number of 75 competitors from 41 countries. Eighteen of them did not finish due to the high altitude of Mexico City. To date he is the only Guyanese ever to compete for

in the

at the

. As Prowell was training for the

, he set his personal best record of 2:39:11 in a

on 4 February 1968 at a track event in St. George's,

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. Leading up to the Olympics he also won a gold medal in the Marathon at the 1968 Texaco Southern Games in San Fernando, Trinidad, followed by a gold medal in the 3000 m race at the annual Inter Estate Athletics Championships in

Notable runners Boyo Changur placed second and Gladstone Hopkinson placing third.

sent five men to the

. The West Indies Champion, 32-year-old Harry Prowell was a favorable contender in the Men's Marathon. It was an accomplishment just to finish this race and it was referred to as one of the slowest marathons in Olympic history. With the unfavorable conditions, Prowell placed a respectable 50th place with a time of 2:57:01.4.

1970 British Commonwealth Games

The Edinburgh race stands out as one of his most memorable. After successfully running in the 3-mile, 6-mile and half-marathon with a time of 1 hour and 3 minutes in Trinidad, Prowell was flowing directly to

the very day to compete in the

in the Men's Marathon event. He also qualified for both the 5,000 and

10,000 10,000 (ten thousand) is the natural number following 9,999 and preceding 10,001. Name Many languages have a specific word for this number: in Ancient Greek it is (the etymological root of the word myriad in English), in Aramaic , in Hebrew ...

metres event at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Guyana National Awards

Harry Prowell was awarded Guyana's National Sportsman of the Year in 1969 and received the Order of Service of Guyana (Grade II) known as the Golden Arrow of Achievement in 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prowell, Harry 1936 births 2000 deaths People from Demerara-Mahaica Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Guyanese male long-distance runners Guyanese male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Guyana Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Guyana Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Guyana Guyanese male athletes