Albert George Hill (24 March 1889 – 8 January 1969) was a British

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete. He competed at the 1920 Olympics and won gold medals in the 800 m and 1500 m and a silver medal in the 3000 m team race.

Biography

Hill started out as a long-distance runner, winning the British AAA championships over 4 miles in 1910. During

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he served with the Royal Flying Corps in

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, and after the war changed to middle-distance running. Coached by

Sam Mussabini Scipio Africanus "Sam" Mussabini (6 August 1867 – 12 March 1927) was an English athletics coach best known for his work with Harold Abrahams. In total, he led athletes to eleven medals over five Olympic Games. However, in an era where amateuri ...

(coach of 100 m Olympic Champions Reggie Walker and

Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Biography Early life ...

), he won the 880 yd and 1 mile at the 1919 AAA championships and then equalled the British record of 4:16.8 for 1 mile. He nearly was not selected for the Olympics the following year, the selectors considering the 31-year-old Hill too old. Finally, he was allowed to take part at the Olympics, which were held in Antwerp,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He made the final in the 800m, which was a closely contested race. In the end, the 31-year-old Hill beat American Earl Eby for the gold, setting a British record of 1:53.4 on a slow track. Two days later, Hill completed the middle distance double by winning the 1500 m as well, thus completing a "double" not replicated by a British athlete until

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...

at the 2004 Olympics. Helped by his compatriot, Philip Baker (who would receive the

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in 1959), he won comfortably, with Baker in second in a time of 4:01.8. Hill also competed in the 3000 m team race event, in which the British team finished second, earning Hill's third Olympic medal. Hill won the 1921 AAA mile championship in a British record of 4:13.8, this was 1.2 seconds outside the world record and the second fastest amateur time ever. Hill ended his running career in 1921 and became a coach himself, his most famous protégé being Sydney Wooderson. He emigrated to

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shortly after

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, and died there in 1969. In 2010, 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 contribut ...

Biography

References

Further reading