Ainsley Bennett (born 22 July 1954) is a British former sprinter from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England who competed at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Biography

Born in Jamaica but brought up in Birmingham, England, Bennett attended Naseby Secondary Modern School (now Park View), in the area known as

Alum Rock, Birmingham Alum Rock is an inner-city suburb of Birmingham, England, located roughly 2 miles east of Birmingham city centre. The area is officially a division of Saltley. Name origin and neighbouring areas The name probably refers to the rock from whi ...

. This school also produced a Republic of Ireland International cross-country runner, Paul O'Callaghan, who competed in six World Cross Country Running Championships. Ainsley competed for

Birchfield Harriers Birchfield Harriers is an sport of athletics, athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England. As well as welcoming recreational runners they cater for all levels of experience up to and including Olympi ...

based in

Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is also the name of a Government of Birmingham, England#Council constituencies, council constituency, managed by its own ...

in North Birmingham and finished third behind American Mark Lutz in the 200 metres event at the

1974 AAA Championships The 1974 AAA Championships was the 1974 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 12 to 13 July 1974 at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, Engla ...

. The following year he was runner-up behind another American

Steve Riddick Steven Earl Riddick (born September 18, 1951) is an American Athletics (sport), athlete and winner of the gold medal in Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay, 4 × 100 meter relay at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Pe ...

in both the 100 and 200 metres events at the

but by virtue of being the highest placed British athlete in those events he was considered the both the British 100 metres champion and the British 200 metres champion. At the 1976 Olympics Games in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, he represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, where he reached the semi-finals of the men's 200m sprint race, as well as being one of the men's 4 × 400 m relay team which unfortunately failed to progress further than the first heats. Bennett was on the podium at the AAA Championships twice more in 1976 and 1979 and won a bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the

1983 World Championships in Athletics The 1st World Championships in Athletics (; ) were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium (Helsinki), Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983 ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, with teammates

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. He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Biography Cook represented England in t ...

Todd Bennett Todd Anthony Bennett (6 July 1962 – 16 July 2013) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. Biography Bennett competed for Great Britain in the 19 ...

and Philip Brown, in a time of 3:03.53, finishing behind the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. After finishing his athletics career, Bennett founded an events management and corporate hospitality business using his contacts to specialise in tickets. Bennett is also a Trustee for

. He and his partner, Mary Sharp, now live in

Hampton-in-Arden Hampton in Arden is a village and civil parish located in the Forest of Arden in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands of England. Hampton in Arden was part of Warwickshire until the 1974 boundary changes. It lies within ...

with their two children: Callum and Ruaidhri Bennett.

Career personal bests

*100m - 10.21 (1979) *200m - 20.42 (1979) *400m - 46.15 (1975)

References

http://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=457

https://web.archive.org/web/20100531034235/http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/351-paul-ocallaghan-aspire-running
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Ainsley 1954 births Living people Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom British male sprinters English male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Birchfield Harriers World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1979 Summer Universiade Athletes from Birmingham, West Midlands