Kenneth Sandilands "Sandy" Duncan

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(26 April 1912 – 18 June 2005) was an English athlete who competed in 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 ...

and in the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games were the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

. He later became one of the most distinguished and sympathetic sports officials of his generation, as the long-serving general secretary of the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

. For many years he was synonymous with the Olympic movement in Britain.

Biography

Duncan was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

, where his ability at the long jump was quickly evident — he won the

London Athletic Club London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013.Barker, Philip (2013)"London Athletic club still going stro ...

’s schools championships with a record leap of 22 ft 5in. His prowess earned him a Blue in his first year at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, and he also won the 100 yards against Cambridge, as well as getting a football Blue. In the AAA championships he came in the top six in the long jump every year from 1932 to 1937, finishing second behind Frenchman Robert Paul at the

1934 AAA Championships The 1934 AAA Championships was the 1934 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 13 to 14 July 1934 at White City Stadium in London, England. The Championsh ...

. Shortly afterwards, he represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at the

, where finished fourth in the long jump event. He represented Britain in 1935 and, in July 1936, ran his fastest time of 9.8 seconds for the 100 yards, although a hamstring injury prevented him from being selected for the Olympics. In 1938, he was sixth in both the shot and discus. In indoor games, he won the British 70 metres dash in 1938. At the

, he was a member of the English relay team which won the silver medal in the 4×110 yards competition. In the long jump contest he finished tenth and in the 100 yards event he was eliminated in the heats. During the war he served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

and rose to the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. After the war Duncan taught at Bradfield and, having qualified as an AAA coach. His administrative career began in 1947 when he was made secretary of the Universities’ Athletic Union. This gave him the initial experience for his appointment, two years later, as general secretary at the British Olympic Association (BOA), the organisation responsible for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's participation in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. He held this post for 26 years, from 1949 to 1975 and served as ''chef de mission'' at 12 Olympics, summer and winter, from the 1952 Oslo and Helsinki games to Montreal in 1976. He was also honorary secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation, supervising celebrations from Vancouver 1954 to Brisbane in 1982. He also served as secretary of the

Achilles Club The Achilles Club is a track and field by and for the past and present representatives of the University of Oxford, Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge Universities. As of 2025, members have won 19 Olympic Games, Olympic gold medals a ...

, for Oxford and Cambridge Blues, for 39 years. Duncan was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the ...

and promoted to Officer of the same Order (OBE) in the 1974 Birthday Honours.UK list: Despite this, he was probably better recognised outside Britain than in his own country. In 1952, he was given the White Rose and Lion from Finland and the rare Olympic Award from the IOC in 1984.

External links

commonwealthgames.com resultsRootswebSandy Duncan's obituary in the Times

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Sandy 1912 births 2005 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England English male sprinters British male sprinters English male long jumpers British male long jumpers People educated at Malvern College British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery officers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics