Henry Harold Green (15 July 1886 – 12 March 1934) was a British

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed in the marathon at the 1912 Summer Olympics, and is recognized by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

as having set a world's best in the marathon on 12 May 1913 with a time of 2:38:16.2 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Green was a member of the

Herne Hill Harriers The Herne Hill Harriers is an amateur athletics sports club based at Tooting Bec Athletics Track in Tooting Bec, London. The club caters to all levels and ages of track, field, road running and cross-country running and begins training athlete ...

Biography

Green competed for the Sutton Harriers and won a marathon in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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1908. At the inaugural

Polytechnic Marathon The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the ...

run in

on 8 May 1909 he finished third, behind

Henry Barrett Henry Frederick Barrett (30 December 1879 – 18 December 1927) was a British long-distance runner who competed at two Olympic Games and set a world's best in only his second marathon. Biography Barrett represented Great Britain at the 190 ...

and Fred Lord, with a time of 2:49:00.8. Although the 1910 Polytechnic Marathon was cancelled due to the death of

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, Green was one of 49 who started the 1911 race that made its way from

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. Competing for the Surrey Athletic Club, Green trailed Michael Ryan until

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

, 23 miles into the race. Taking the lead, he finished four minutes in front of Ryan with a time of 2:46:29.8. The ''New York Times'' described him as being in "fresh condition" at the end of the race. Green was the favourite to win the 1912 Polytechnic Marathon, a race that also served as " England's tryouts for the Olympic games", but finished third behind James Corkery of Canada and Christian Gitsham of

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. During the 1912 Summer Olympics, he finished fourteenth in the marathon. In May 1913, Green broke the world marathon record at a track in Shepherds Bush, with a time of 2h, 38m, 16.2s. Green's record lasted nineteen days. On 31 May 1913, Alexis Ahlgren of Sweden eclipsed Green's mark with a 2:36:06 performance at the

.Athletics. Polytechnic Hariers Meeting. "Marathon" Race Won in "Record" Time.
/ref> Green worked at

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

until he signed up as a private during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was decorated with the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

and the French Médaille militaire for his service in the Gallipoli Campaign. Commissioned on the battlefield, he left the army with the rank of captain. After the war he ran a

newsagents A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

shop in Knights Hill, West Norwood and did not actively participate in major competitions. Green died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1934. He was cremated at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

References

External links

Profile at www.sports-reference.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Harry 1886 births 1934 deaths Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Olympic athletes for Great Britain British male marathon runners British Army personnel of World War I British Army officers Deaths from pneumonia in England Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Médaille militaire (France) English male marathon runners Athletes from London