Robert Leslie Howland (25 March 1905 – 7 March 1986) was an English

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 who competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. He represented Great Britain in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Biography

He was born in

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...

and died in

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

. In 1928, he finished 20th the Olympic shot put event. At the

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, and was held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The event was organized by '' Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

he won the silver medal in the shot put competition. Four years later at the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

he won again the silver medal in the shot put contest. Howland medalled ten times between 1929 and 1939 in the shot put event at the prestigious

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 ...

. He became a senior tutor and professor of

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at St. John's College, Cambridge, England.

References

sports-reference.com
1905 births 1986 deaths Sportspeople from Berkhamsted English male shot putters British male shot putters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1930 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics {{England-shotput-athletics-bio-stub