Todd Anthony Bennett (6 July 1962 – 16 July 2013) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

athlete who competed mainly in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

Athletics career

Bennett competed for Great Britain in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

held in

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in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

with his teammates

Kriss Akabusi Kezie Uchechukwu Duru Akabusi , MBE (born 28 November 1958), known as Kriss Akabusi, is a British former sprint and hurdling track and field athlete. His first international successes were with the British 4×400 metres relay team, winning a ...

Garry Cook Garry Peter Cook (born 10 January 1958) is a former British track and field athlete, who competed mainly in the 800 metres with a best time of 1:44.55 minutes. Athletics career He competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in L ...

and Philip Brown.Olympic results
/ref> Bennett's international career started in 1981 where he took the 400m title at the European Junior Championships as well as forming one quarter of the silver medal-winning 4x400m squad. His success at these championships marked the start of a decade at the top of his sport in which he attended all major championships both indoor and outdoor. Perfectly proportioned for running indoors, Bennett was European Indoor Champion over 400m in both 1985 and 1987 and also took a silver medal over 400m at the World Indoor Championships in 1985. This was the same year that he also became World Indoor Record Holder for the 400m in 45.56 seconds. During his career Bennett competed in three Commonwealth Games Championships. At the

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he competed for

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over 400m where he was placed 5th and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x400m squad. Four years later he represented

at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

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, where he was second in the 200 metres. In his final Commonwealth Games in

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, he finished 8th in the 400 metres. Throughout his career, Bennett was a central member of the Great Britain 4x400m squad. As a member of this squad, he attended two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in 1984 (2nd) and 1988 (5th) and two World Championships in 1983 (3rd) and 1987 (2nd). He also attended four Europa Cup competitions as part of this squad and in his four appearances obtained three gold medals.

Coaching

After retirement from competition, Bennett maintained his links with athletics. He worked with the Great Britain Junior Athletics Team and for four years was their Team Manager. From 2003 Bennett worked as the National 400m event coach for the Senior women and was in

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when the team came 4th, running the fastest time by a British team for ten years. During this period Bennett also coached his own group of athletes, several gaining international honours. Bennett died from cancer on 16 July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Todd 1962 births 2013 deaths English male sprinters British male sprinters Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Southampton Deaths from cancer in England Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games