James William Llewellyn Alford (15 October 1913 – 5 August 2004) was a Welsh track athlete who was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. In 1938 Alford won the Mile Empire Games gold medal in Sydney, becoming the first athlete in a Welsh vest to strike gold in the Empire Games. He was also a member of the British 4 x 1500 metre team that broke the world record. At home he won 11 Welsh titles in disciplines ranging from the 440 yards to cross country. He became first national coach for

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

in 1948 and is a member of the

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

. As a coach Jim Alford guided and advised many UK athletes to represent the UK and gain honours internationally. He always had time to give to disadvantaged athletes, inspiring them to reach their potential. He was the author and collaborator of several books and many articles, also translating many overseas books and articles into English. He worked for the

International Amateur Athletics Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF) for a number of years, organising coaching forums and writing many articles. He was greatly respected internationally and loved and appreciated by local athletes.

External links

*
Jim Alford 1938 Empire Games gold medallist dies at 90
'' obituary at IAAF, 9 August 2004

by Robert Cole in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

,'' 21 August 2004 Welsh male middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Cardiff Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Wales Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics 1913 births 2004 deaths {{Wales-athletics-bio-stub