Arthur Astley (11 March 1881 – September 1915) was a British

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 from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

who competed at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

Biography

Astley was a member of the Salford Harriers. He became the National 880 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 1906 AAA Championships. Astley represented

Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed as the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organising the United King ...

in London, where he ran the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

, finishing second in his semi-final (first round) heat with a time of 1:59.9. He did not advance to the final. The next day, Astley also took second place in his preliminary heat of 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 programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

, not advancing to the semifinals.

References

Sources

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External links

* 1881 births 1915 deaths English male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners English male sprinters British male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Deaths from cancer in England {{England-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub