John "Jack" William Hutchins (born 8 June 1926,

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, died April 8, 2008,

West Vancouver, British Columbia West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

middle-distance runner. Hutchins was the Canadian national record holder in the 880 yards for the years 1946, 1947 and 1951 (shared with

Bill Parnell Comer William "Bill" Parnell (14 February 1928 in Vancouver – 6 September 2008) was a Canadian middle distance runner who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 1 mile race at the 1950 ...

), and the 440 yard Canadian and British Columbia record holder in 1951. He competed for Canada in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

having won at the trials in the 880m and coming in 2nd in the 1500m. He competed again at the

1952 Summer 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 ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Hutchins also competed at the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

(Commonwealth Games) in 1950 and 1954, winning the silver medal in the 880 yards in 1950. Bob Ferguson. Who's who in Canadian sport. Markham : Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2005. Hutchins attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, where he obtained his BSc. He was coached by

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champio ...

, co-founder of Nike and won several titles as a university track and field athlete, setting records in the mile run. He was an All-American in 1951–52, received the Jack Davies and Oregon Emerald Awards and was the AAU outstanding Canadian track and field athlete in 1952. Hutchins continued to compete throughout his life and won numerous events in both 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 ...

and Canada and participated in the

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

Run in 2007, at the age of 80 with a time of 1.09.27.

References

External links

Photo and info from University of Oregon Libraries
1926 births 2008 deaths Athletes from Vancouver University of Oregon alumni Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Canadian male middle-distance runners Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics 20th-century Canadian people Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games {{canada-athletics-bio-stub