William Nyman Ashenfelter (October 16, 1924, in

Collegeville, Pennsylvania Collegeville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb outside of Philadelphia on Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the location of Ursinus College, which opened in 1869. The population was 5,089 ...

– June 4, 2010) was an American

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 known for long-distance events. He was the younger brother of

Horace Ashenfelter Horace Ashenfelter III (January 23, 1923 – January 6, 2018) was an American athlete. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956. He won fifteen AAU nationals titles and three collegiate national titles during his career. Bi ...

. In the Steeplechase at the 1952 Olympic Trials, both brothers ran together, with Horace edging ahead to take the win in the last lap. Both brothers broke the American record that had been held for 16 years by Harold Manning and both brothers qualified to run in the 1952 Olympics. While Bill was unable to finish his trial heat, Horace went on to win the gold medal in world record time. But Bill was not left out of making the world record book. A month earlier, Bill joined Reggie Pearman,

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

, and

Mal Whitfield Malvin Greston Whitfield (October 11, 1924 – November 19, 2015) was an American athlete, goodwill ambassador, and airman. Nicknamed "Marvelous Mal", he was the Olympic Games, Olympic champion in the 800 metres, 800 meters at the 1948 Summer O ...

to set the world record in the 4 × 800 metres relay at 7:29.2. Bill was the 1954 American champion in the 2 mile steeplechase. In 1951 he won the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

. Horace won the championships in 1954–5, completing the only set of brothers to win the championships.

References

1924 births 2010 deaths People from Collegeville, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania American male middle-distance runners American male steeplechase runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub