Alfred William Gregory "Dad" Wheatley (20 October 1882 – 1 March 1961), born in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

, was an Australian sportsman. He competed in the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

as a middle distance runner. Wheatley, running for the East Melbourne Harriers, won the 880 yard and 1 mile events at the 1905

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athle ...

. The following year he sailed to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

to compete in the

, he entered two events, the 800 metres and the 1500 metres. In the 800 metres he had to be content with third place in his heat and so didn't qualify for the final. He fared better in the 1500 metres, finishing fourth in his heat which was good enough to qualify for the final, in the final, he was in second place on entering the final lap, but in the end he finished in fourth place, 13 yards behind the bronze medal position. Three years later in 1909, Wheatley again won the 880 yard and 1 mile events at the

. In 1912, while attempting to gain selection for the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, Wheatley broke down in training and was forced to retire from competitive athletics. When his brother Noel, was killed in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, Wheatley signed up with the Australian forces and served four years across Europe and Egypt, reaching the rank of Sergeant-Major. Wheatley was an accountant by profession and died in 1961, aged 78 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Dad 1882 births Australian male middle-distance runners Australian male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games 1961 deaths Athletes from Melbourne Australian accountants Australian military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state)