Hector Harold Whitlock (16 December 1903 – 27 December 1985) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 50 kilometre walk. He attended

Hendon School Hendon School is a mixed secondary school in Golders Rise, Hendon, with academy status since November 2011 (previously a comprehensive) in the London Borough of Barnet. It specialises in languages, offering lessons amongst others to its student ...

, then Hendon County School, in North London, where he planted in 1936 an oak tree sapling presented to him, along with his gold medal, by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

at the Olympic Games.Harold Whitlock
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-01-23. Whitlock won his first national title in 1933. Two years later, he set a new

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 ...

for a 30-mile walk, finishing in 4 hours, 29 minutes, 31.8 seconds. In the same year, he also became the first recorded man to walk between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in under eight hours. His main achievement came in 1936, where he won the gold medal in the 50 kilometre walk at the

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 inau ...

held in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, representing

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, finishing in a time of 4 hours, 30 minutes, 41.4 seconds. He gained this victory despite being affected by sickness about 38 kilometres into the race. This sickness, apparently food-related, also affected his fellow British competitors Tebbs Lloyd Johnson and Joe Hopkins. During the 1936 Olympics, oak saplings were given to gold medallists. Rather than planting the oak in his garden, Whitlock offered his as a gift to his former school, Hendon School. The oak remained at the school until 2007, when it had to be removed due to a dangerous amount of rot. He continued to represent Britain at international level until 1952, when he came 11th at the

Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

behind his younger brother Rex, who finished fourth. Competing at the age of 48, Harold Whitlock was Britain's oldest ever international athlete. After this, Whitlock continued as a coach and judge. Notably, he coached Don Thompson, who won gold in the 50 kilometre walking event at the 1960 Olympics. Thompson would eventually take over his world record for the 30 miles (50 kilometre) walk. Whitlock also served as an official at those same Olympics. He died on 27 December 1985 at the age of 82. In 2011, he was inducted into the

England Athletics Hall of Fame The England Athletics Hall of Fame was launched in 2008 with a panel of experts selecting a list of potential inductees for athletics fans and members of the public to vote on. The Hall of Fame honours those who have made an outstanding contributi ...

References

1903 births 1985 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists People from Hendon Athletes from London English male racewalkers World record setters in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) British masters athletes {{UK-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub