George Butterfield (athlete)

George Butterfield (1879 – 24 September 1917) was a British athlete running for Darlington Harriers. He ran the world's fastest mile in 1906, and competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.[1]

Born in Stockton on Tees,[2] Butterfield came in second in his semifinal heat in the 800 metres with a time of 1:58.9.[3] His finish, while behind Ödön Bodor's, was ahead of defending champion James Lightbody's. Butterfield did not advance to the final.[4]

He also competed in the 1500 metres, placing third in his initial semifinal heat and not advancing to the final. Butterfield's time was 4:11.8; Mel Sheppard had set a new Olympic record at 4:05.0 in winning the heat and eliminating Butterfield and the other five runners.

Butterfield was killed in action during the First World War,[5] serving as a private with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was buried in the Birr Cross Roads Cemetery.[6]

His obituary in the Northern Despatch recorded that he had once raced against a greyhound. The dog came second.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. George Butterfield Archived 1 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-01-19.
  3. "Archive news from the Northern Echo".
  4. "George Butterfield". Olympedia. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  5. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  6. Butterfield, G, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 28 September 2008
  • Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
  • De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
  • Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
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