William Edward Eaton (20 April 1909 – 1 April 1938) was a British

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Biography

Eaton became the national 10 miles champion after winning the British

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 ...

title at the

1936 AAA Championships The 1936 AAA Championships was the 1936 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 10 to 11 July 1936 at White City Stadium in London, England. The Championsh ...

. One month later he was selected to represent

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, where he competed in the men's 10,000 metres. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

less than two years later, aged 28.

References

External links

* 1909 births 1938 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics British male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom Sportspeople from Salford English male long-distance runners 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub