Kenneth Wood (21 November 1930 – 8 September 2008) was a British

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

. He ran one of the early Four-minute mile runs and competed at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

Biography

Wood competed with the

Sheffield United Harriers City of Sheffield & Dearne Athletic Club is an athletics club based in Sheffield, England. It is based at the Sheffield Hallam University City Athletics Stadium. The club competes in the British Athletics League Premiership and Northern Athlet ...

athletic club. Between 1954 and 1961 he won the

Emsley Carr Mile The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational athletics running event held in the United Kingdom over one mile for men. The race was won in 2024 by the Australian athlete Olli Hoare. History The race was inaugurated in 1953 by Sir William Ca ...

a record four times. In this period he was selected to run for

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 ...

in the 1956 Olympic 1500 metres finishing ninth in the final. Wood became the British 1 mile 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 ...

title at the

1956 AAA Championships The 1956 AAA Championships was the 1956 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1956 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

and

1959 AAA Championships The 1959 AAA Championships was the 1959 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA). It was held from 10 to 11 July 1959 at White City Stadium White City Stadiu ...

. In May 1955 Wood finished second in a two-mile race behind

Sándor Iharos Sándor Iharos (10 March 1930 – 24 January 1996) was a Hungary, Hungarian long-distance runner. Though unsuccessful in major competitions, Iharos ran List of world records in athletics, world records over multiple distances and is one of only t ...

both breaking the world two mile outdoor record. Woods time being 8:34.8. He became the fourteenth athlete (the fifth from the UK) to officially run a Four-minute mile, achieving a time of 3:59.3 on 19 July 1957. He in fact finished fourth behind

Derek Ibbotson George Derek Ibbotson (17 June 1932 – 23 February 2017) was an English runner who excelled in athletics in the 1950s. His most famous achievement was setting a new world record in the mile in 1957. Biography Ibbotson was born on 17 J ...

, who set a new British record,

Ron Delany Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 metres event at the ...

and Stanislav Jungwirth. On the 50th anniversary of

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub- 4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

's first Four-minute mile, Wood claimed he had previously run under four minutes on 7 April 1954. This unofficial run being timed by explorer and then Sheffield University student

Roy Koerner Roy Koerner MBE was a Polar explorer who participated in the 1968-1969 surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean with expedition leader Sir Wally Herbert. The then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson described the journey as "a feat of endurance and courage ...

. Wood died in September 2008.

Record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ken 1933 births 2008 deaths British male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes from Sheffield English male middle-distance runners 20th-century English sportsmen