James Alexander Burns (5 November 1907 – 22 May 2003) was an English

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed for Great Britain in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

and in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Biography

Burns was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. He became the national 4 miles champion after winning the British

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 ...

at the

1931 AAA Championships The 1931 AAA Championships was the 1931 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 3 to 4 July 1931 at Stamford Bridge (stadium), Stamford Bridge in London, En ...

In 1932 at the Olympic Games, he finished seventh in the Olympic 5000 metres event. Burns represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

, winning a bronze medal in the 3 miles contest. Burns finished second behind Józef Noji in the 6 miles event and second behind William Eaton in the 10 miles event at the 1936 AAA Championships. One month later he was selected to represent

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 ...

at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, where he finished fifth in the 10,000 metres competition. Burns once again finished runner-up at the

1937 AAA Championships The 1937 AAA Championships was the 1937 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 16 to 17 July 1937 at White City Stadium in London, England. The Championsh ...

in both the 6 miles and 10 miles races. His grandson was Richard Burns, the 2001 World Rally Champion.

References

External links

Alec Burns
at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived) 1907 births 2003 deaths Athletes from Newcastle upon Tyne English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics {{England-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub