Guy Montagu Butler (25 August 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a British sprinter, winner of the gold medal in the 4 × 400 m

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. With four Olympic medals Guy Butler shares the British record for the number of medals in athletics with

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

Christine Ohuruogu Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu (born 17 May 1984) is a British former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres, the event for which she is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion. The Olympic champion in 2008, and silver medali ...

, and

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...

Biography

Butler was born in

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, to

Edward Montagu Butler Edward Montagu Butler (3 December 1866 – 11 February 1948) was an English first-class cricketer and schoolmaster. Life Butler was born in Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex. He was educated at Harrow School (of which his father was then headmaste ...

and Gertrude Mary Fair. He was the grandson of academic

Henry Montagu Butler Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) was an English academic and clergyman, who served as headmaster of Harrow School (1860–85), Dean of Gloucester (1885–86) and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (1886–1918). Early ...

and nephew of Sir

James Ramsay Montagu Butler Sir James Ramsay Montagu Butler, (20 July 1889 – 1 March 1975) was a British politician and academic. He was a member of parliament for Cambridge University from 1922 to 1923. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Ca ...

and Sir

Nevile Butler Sir Nevile Montagu Butler (20 December 1893 – 11 November 1973) was a British diplomat. Butler was born in 1893 to Henry Montagu Butler and Agnata Frances Ramsay. He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge. After servi ...

. He attended the prestigious

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. His father also attended Harrow and competed in cricket and athletics at the national level. At the Antwerp Olympics in 1920, Butler won the silver medal in the individual 400 m and anchored the British 4 × 400 m relay team to a gold medal in 3:22.2. At the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

, he won bronze in the 400 m and again anchored the British 4 × 400 m relay team, this time winning bronze in 3:17.4. In 1928 he became the first British track and field athlete to compete in three Olympics; he reached a 200 m quarterfinal, and retired shortly thereafter. Butler became the National 440 yards champion after winning the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the

1919 AAA Championships The 1919 AAA Championships was the 1919 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held on Saturday 5 July 1919 at the Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, England. The C ...

. The following year in 1920 and also in 1923, he was the highest placed British Athlete in the same event at the Championships and therefore is listed as the British champion for those years. He also won the British

in in 1926. He also ran the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 30.6 in 1926. In retirement, Butler was a schoolmaster, then an athletics journalist, and a pioneer of filming athletes in action. He contributed to the design of the

White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, was built for the 1908 Summer Olympics. It hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 FIFA W ...

and worked as the athletics correspondent for ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'' until it was merged with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' in 1937.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Guy 1899 births 1981 deaths People from Harrow, London Athletes from the London Borough of Harrow Sportspeople from St Neots English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics English Olympic competitors People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)

Guy Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an uninc ...

20th-century English sportsmen