Launceston Elliot (9 June 1874 – 8 August 1930) was a British

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

, and the first athlete representing the United Kingdom to become an Olympic champion.

Biography

Launceston Elliot was conceived in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...

, Australia, after which he was named, but before his birth his family moved to India and he was born in Kaladagi and baptised at

Guledgudda Guledgudda is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Karnataka. It was earlier a part of the Badami taluk, but is now the headquarters of the Guledgudda taluk in Bagalkot district. Demographics , Guledgudda had a po ...

, now in Karnataka State. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served as

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

(1905–10). Launceston Elliot was the grandson of Sir Charles Elliot, the onetime governor of

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, and his father Gilbert Wray Elliot served as magistrate with the Indian Civil Service. In 1887, Elliot's father gave up his post in India and took his family to England where he began farming in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. The 13-year-old Launceston, an exceptionally well-built youth, who was seeing England for the first time, immediately came under the influence of the great

Eugen Sandow Eugen Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, ; 2 April 1867 – 14 October 1925) was a German bodybuilder and showman from Prussia. He was born in Königsberg, and became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy. Aft ...

and soon developed into an unusually talented lifter. In January 1891, aged only 16, he performed creditably at what is now recognised as the first British Championships held at the fashionable Café Monico in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

, London. Three years later he was the winner of the championships at the

Royal Aquarium The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden was a place of amusement in Westminster, London. It opened in 1876, and the building was demolished in 1903. The attraction was located northwest of Westminster Abbey on Tothill Street. The building was design ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Continuing success encouraged the 21-year-old Elliot to travel 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 ...

for the first modern Olympic Games. At the time, there were no internationally accepted rules or classifications for weightlifting and the 1896 Olympics added further to the huge variety of classes contested on the contemporary scene. The two-handed lift came first on the program and, after a long drawn out contest,

Viggo Jensen Alexander Viggo Jensen (born 22 June 1874 in Copenhagen, Denmark; died 2 November 1930 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish weightlifter, sport shooter, gymnast, and athlete. He was the first Danish and Nordic Olympic champion, at the 1896 Sum ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and Elliot had both lifted 111.5 kilograms, but Prince George awarded the Dane first place for having done so in better style. Jensen's lift was accomplished with a superb clean lift whereas Elliot had certainly encountered difficulty. By contrast, the one-handed event was a short, sharp event. Elliot declined Prince George's courteous offer of a rest break but he asked that he might this time lift after Jensen, as in the two-handed event the Dane had the advantage of lifting after Elliot. The request was granted although the order of lifting was not to have a material effect on the result. Elliot raised 71.0 kilograms without difficulty whereas Jensen, who had injured his shoulder trying to raise 112.5 kilograms in the two-handed event, could only manage 57.0 kilograms and Britain's first Olympic champion was crowned. Elliot also competed in the 100 metres in the athletics programme. He placed third in his heat and did not advance to the final. In the

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

event, Elliot was defeated in the first round by

Carl Schuhmann Carl August Berthold Schuhmann (12 May 1869 – 24 March 1946) was a German athlete who won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics ...

of Germany, the gymnastics champion. He finished last of the five competitors in the rope climbing event on the gymnastics program. Following his victory in Athens, he set four new records at the 1899 Amateur Championships and, as a prominent figure on the British weightlifting scene, his financial success was virtually assured. He also competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

, throwing the discus and placing eleventh (no weightlifting events were held that year). In 1903 he turned professional. After his retirement Elliot carried on farming in England for a few years before settling in Melbourne in 1923. He died of cancer of the spine on 8 August 1930 aged 56 and is buried in Melbourne's Fawkner Cemetery. Photographs of Launceston Elliot are featured among the distinguished Scottish athletes in the sport section of the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

, Edinburgh (re-opened after a major refurbishment in 2011).

References

External links

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Oxford DNB entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Launceston 1874 births 1930 deaths People associated with physical culture People from Bagalkot district Scottish male weightlifters British male sport wrestlers Scottish male sprinters British male sprinters Scottish male discus throwers British male discus throwers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic weightlifters for Great Britain Olympic wrestlers for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in weightlifting Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century British sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1896 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1896 Summer Olympics Scottish Olympic competitors British people in colonial India Anglo-Scots Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Deaths from spinal cancer Neurological disease deaths in Victoria (state) Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state)