Stanley Ernest Walter Cox (15 July 1918 – 27 June 2012) was a British athlete who competed in two Olympic games in 1948 and 1952. Born in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...

, England, he served with

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

in World War II before competing in the 10,000-metre event at 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 ...

. Unable to participate in the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

, he returned to the Olympics in 1952, although he did not complete his event, the marathon, due to the flu. At the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fi ...

, he suffered a sunstroke and collapsed within two miles (3 km) of the finish. He retired from running in 1956, but continued to work with

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

for several years and was due to participate in the ceremonies of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Early life

Cox was born on 15 July 1918 in

, England and began his professional running career in 1939. During World War II, he served in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

with the

. After returning to competition shape and qualifying, Cox was only allowed two days off work for the

, one to observe the opening ceremonies and a second actually to compete.

Olympic career

In 1948, Cox was the British six-mile (10 km) champion, with a time of approximately 29 minutes. In the Men's 10,000 metres competition, he did not receive a medal, placing 7th. He later claimed that he was told by

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

Olympian Harold Abrahams that he had run an extra lap due to confusion caused by

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final m ...

, and should have placed 5th instead. In

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, he was due to compete 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 ...

event, but after riding in a drafty aeroplane to the competition, he awoke the day of the race with a paralysed left side. It was later discovered that he was suffering from the

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

. Cox was a Great Britain International from 1939 to 1956. He had qualified for the

, but his employers threatened to fire him if he attended, so he remained at home. He did, however, compete in the

in the marathon event, but did not receive a medal. During the race he, along with fellow athlete Jim Peters, was afflicted with severe

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme ...

and was taken to hospital after running into a post, with only two miles remaining. His personal best time in the marathon was 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Later life

After retiring from running in 1956, he worked as a judge with British Amateur Athletics Association. During his tenure at this job, he was hit by a

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

while judging the throw of another competitor, an incident that nearly killed him. Cox, who lived in

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

for nearly 30 years, was seeking to take an active part in the

and a campaign began to make him a participant in the games' ceremonies. He led a weekly walk group to remain fit and active, walking an average of four miles (6 km) a day, until a year before his death on 27 June 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Stan 1918 births 2012 deaths British male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England Royal Air Force personnel of World War II People from Wood Green Sportspeople from the London Borough of Haringey