Kenneth Lawrence Powell (20 April 1940 – 11 December 2022), popularly known as "the Gentleman Sprinter", was an Indian track and field athlete from the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He competed in the

1964 Olympics 1964 Olympics refers to both: *The 1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Ba ...

and the

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

. He was a recipient of the Government of India's

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1965 and Government of Karnataka's

Rajyotsava Award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 ...

in 2018.

Early life

Powell was born on 20 April 1940 in

Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Weste ...

, in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. He was a member of the Anglo-Indian community. His first major event was a third-place finish at the 1957

National School Games National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(present-day Kolkata).

Career

Powell moved to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

when he was 19, and joined the Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Limited, where he was coached by the Rangers Athletics club's coach Krishna. In an interview many years later, Powell would admit that his becoming an athlete was an accident. He set out to be a cricketer and was a fast bowler with ITI. Coach

Benjamin Frank Benjamin Frank (1919 – 12 August 1986) was an Indian cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Assam, Bengal and Mysore. He played for Bengal in the 1952–53 Ranji Trophy. Frank made his first-class debut playing in the Bombay Pentan ...

recommended that he pick up sprinting after seeing his ability to run fast. Powell was one of India's top athletes in the 1960s and was known to have had a healthy rivalry with

Milkha Singh Milkha Singh (20 November 1929 18 June 2021), also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the A ...

. He was a member of the Indian

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

team that made it to the semifinals of the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

. In the same Olympics, he also represented the country in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

sprint events. He was also a member of the team that won

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

at the

. He had previously been left off the squad for the

1966 Asian Games The 1966 Asian Games (), also known as the V Asiad, were a continental multi-sport event that was held from 9 to 20 December 1966, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 142 events in 16 sports were contested by athletes during the games. Taiwan and Isr ...

also in Bangkok. During his career, Powell took home 19 sprinting titles from events all over India. Powell also represented Karnataka in the National Handball Championship in 1970 and also won the silver medal for the 40–44 age-group in the 100m event at the

Asia Masters Athletics Championships The Asia Masters Athletics Championships are the biannual championship of Asia Masters Athletics (AMA), one of six continental based regional affiliates of World Masters Athletics (WMA), known as the World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA) fr ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in 1981. He was also a finalist in the 45–49 age-group event at the

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Powell received the

from the Government of India in 1965. He was the first sportsperson from Karnataka to win the award. He received the Karnataka government's

in 2018. He was also known as ''The Gentleman Sprinter''. After working at the ITI, he was employed with the railways, and later with

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...

from where he retired in 1997. Powell remained associated with athletics in Karnataka after his retirement. He had spoken out against the Kanteerava Stadium's state and had suggested a ban on use of the facilities for non-sporting purposes.

Personal life and death

Powell was married to Daphene Powell (née Simon), who was also an athlete in her younger years. The couple lived in the

Cooke Town Cooke Town is a neighbourhood in Bangalore Cantonment, in Bangalore North-East, India. Built as a suburb before Indian Independence, it is one of Bangalore's oldest neighbourhoods, established when the Bangalore Civil and Military Station was g ...

neighborhood of Bangalore. Powell died in Bangalore on 11 December 2022, at age 82.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Kenneth 1940 births 2022 deaths People from Kolar Indian male sprinters Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 Asian Games Athletes from Karnataka Anglo-Indian people Asian Games bronze medalists for India Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2018 Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award