Kenneth Wood (21 November 1930 – 8 September 2008) was a British middle-distance runner. He ran one of the early Four-minute mile runs and represented

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 ...

at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Career

Wood competed with the

Sheffield United Harriers The Sheffield United Harriers athletics club were formed in 1894 in Sheffield, England. The first meeting of the club was reported in the ''Sporting Chronicle'' 22 May 1894. "The first evening meeting of this newly formed club took place yester ...

athletic club. Between 1954 and 1961 he won the Emsley Carr Mile a record four times. In this period he was selected to run for

in the 1956 Olympic 1500 metres finishing ninth in the final. Wood won the mile event at the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the officia ...

in 1956 and 1959. In May 1955 Wood finished second in a two-mile race behind

Sándor Iharos Sándor Iharos (10 March 1930 – 24 January 1996) was a Hungarian long-distance runner. Though unsuccessful in major competitions, Iharos ran world records over multiple distances and is one of only two athletes (the other being nine-time Olymp ...

both breaking the world two mile outdoor record. Woods time being 8:34.8. He became the fourteenth athlete (the fifth from the UK) to officially run a Four-minute mile, achieving a time of 3:59.3 on 19 July 1957. He in fact finished fourth behind

Derek Ibbotson George Derek Ibbotson (17 June 1932 – 23 February 2017) was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s. His most famous achievement was setting a new world record in the mile in 1957. Biography Ibbotson was born in Huddersfi ...

, who set a new British record,

Ron Delany Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 ...

and Stanislav Jungwirth. On the 50th anniversary of

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

's first Four-minute mile, Wood claimed he had previously run under four minutes on 7 April 1954. This unofficial run being timed by explorer and then Sheffield University student

Roy Koerner Roy Koerner MBE was a Polar explorer who participated in the 1968-1969 surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean with expedition leader Sir Wally Herbert. The then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson described the journey as "a feat of endurance and courage ...

. Wood died in September 2008.

Record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ken 1933 births 2008 deaths British male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain