Todd Anthony Bennett (6 July 1962 – 16 July 2013) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Biography

Bennett competed for Great Britain in the

held in

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, United States, in the 4 × 400 metre relay where he won the silver medal with his teammates Kriss Akabusi, Garry Cook and Philip Brown.Olympic results
/ref> Bennett's international career started in 1981 where he took the 400 m title at the European Junior Championships as well as forming one quarter of the silver medal-winning 4 × 400 m squad. His success at these championships marked the start of a decade at the top of his sport in which he attended all major championships both indoor and outdoor. Perfectly proportioned for running indoors, Bennett was European Indoor Champion over 400 m in both 1985 and 1987 and also took a silver medal over 400 m at the World Indoor Championships in 1985. This was the same year that he also became World Indoor Record Holder for the 400 m in 45.56 seconds. During his career Bennett competed in three Commonwealth Games Championships. At the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, he competed for

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 ...

over 400 m where he was placed 5th and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m squad. Four years later he represented

at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where he was second in the 200 metres. In his final Commonwealth Games in

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, New Zealand, he finished 8th in the 400 metres. Throughout his career, Bennett was a central member of the Great Britain 4 × 400 m squad. As a member of this squad, he attended two

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 ...

in 1984 (2nd) and 1988 (5th) and two World Championships in 1983 (3rd) and 1987 (2nd). He also attended four Europa Cup competitions as part of this squad and in his four appearances obtained three gold medals.

Coaching

After retirement from competition, Bennett maintained his links with athletics. He worked with the Great Britain Junior Athletics Team and for four years was their Team Manager. From 2003 Bennett worked as the National 400 m event coach for the Senior women and was in

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when the team came 4th, running the fastest time by a British team for ten years. During this period Bennett also coached his own group of athletes, several gaining international honours. Bennett died from cancer on 16 July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Todd 1962 births 2013 deaths English male sprinters British male sprinters Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes from Southampton Deaths from cancer in England Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics