
Wallace Henry Hayward
BEM (10 July 1908 – 28 April 2006) was a South African endurance
athlete
An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
with a 60-year career. He became one of the greatest 100-mile runners in history. He won the
Comrades Marathon five times and completed the distance of around 90 km the last time just before his eighty-first birthday.
He was born and died in
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
, South Africa. He died in 2006 just a few days before the annual
Wally Hayward Marathon.
Early life
As a teen, Hayward became an apprentice carpenter. A friend talked Hayward into taking a running job, to put in stakes for diamond mining claims. In 1927 at the age of 19, he joined a Boy’s Club and was invited to go running. In 1929, he read about the
Comrades Marathon and wrote to the race director Vic Clapham. He was surprised to learn that the race was about 54–56 miles. He decided to enter the 1930 race.
Comrades Marathon
He won the race for the first time on his first attempt in 1930 at age 21. In 1931 Hayward broke a bone in his foot while training for Comrades and was told by a doctor that some chest pain he was feeling was due to a strained heart. At age 23, he was told to never run again. He put running aside for a few years until a specialist told him the diagnosis was “rubbish” and told him to go home and put on his running shoes. By 1938 he was competing again.
Twenty years later he competed again and won it from 1950 to 1954, except for 1952 when he chose to rather represent
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland.
After Japan declared in ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
. He finished tenth in the
Olympic marathon event.
In 1951 and 1953 (first athlete under 6 hours) he broke the down-run record, and in 1954 he broke the up-run record and became the oldest man to win the race at age 45 (later overtaken by
Vladimir Kotov in 2004).
In 1988 he returned once again to participate. He beat half the finishers with a time of 9h44m.
In 1989, Wally finished 1min 57sec before the cut-off time at the age of 80. He held the record for the oldest finisher of the Comrades Marathon for 34 years, until it was broken in 2023 by Maros Johannes Mosehla.
81-year-old SA man breaks 34-year record for oldest person to complete Comrades Marathon
Other achievements
In 1953 he established records in the
London to Brighton events, London to Brighton Marathon in 5:29:40, the
Bath to London 100-miler in 12:20:28, and the 24-hour track race with 159 miles, 562 yards.
At the 1938 Empire Games in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
he won the bronze medal in the 6 miles competition and finished fourth in the three mile race.
Hayward fought in North Africa and Italy during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and in 1942 earned the
British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
for bravery for his actions near
El Alamein in Egypt.
Personal life
Hayward married Gladys Catto in December 1934 and had one daughter, Gwenolyn in October 1935. They divorced in 1957. In 1971, Hayward married his second wife, Bertha Bland.
Controversy
In 1953 he accepted a small donation towards his traveling while competing in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. The South African Athletics and Cycling Association declared him a professional, banning him from all amateur events. The ban was finally lifted in 1974.
[eThekwini Online: ]
Famous Durbanites - Sports - Wallace "Wally" Hayward
'
References
Further reading
Wally Hayward profil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Wally
1908 births
2006 deaths
Athletes from Johannesburg
South African ultramarathon runners
South African male marathon runners
South African male long-distance runners
Olympic athletes for South Africa
Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa
South African military personnel of World War II
Recipients of the British Empire Medal
Male ultramarathon runners
Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games
20th-century South African sportsmen
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics