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Jim Peters (athlete)

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Jim Peters
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born(1918-10-24)24 October 1918
Hackney, London, England
Died9 January 1999(1999-01-09) (aged 80)
Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea, England
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventMarathon
ClubEssex Beagles AC
Medal record
Athletics
Representing  England
British Empire & Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Vancouver 6 miles

James Henry Peters (24 October 1918 – 9 January 1999) was a long-distance runner from England. He broke the world record for the men's marathon four times during the 1950s. He was the first runner to complete a marathon in under 2 hours 20 minutes – an achievement which was equated to the breaking of the four-minute mile.[citation needed]

Biography

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Peters became the British 6 miles champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1946 AAA Championships.[1][2] The following year Peters became the British 10 miles champion at the 1947 AAA Championships.[3]

Peters stepped up in distance and began to race marathons, which brought significant success. He won both the 1951 and 1952 AAA marathon titles in Birmingham and London respectively and at the latter broke the world record by recording 2:20:42.2.[4]

In 1953 at the Polytechnic Marathon, a point-to-point race from Windsor to Chiswick, West London, Peters broke the world record again and later the same year, he was the first runner to complete a marathon in under 2 hours 20 minutes, clocking on an out-and-back course at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands. He also won his third consecutive AAA marathon title in 1953.[3]

On 26 June 1954, Peters won his fourth AAA title, which was also his fourth world record, setting a time of 2:17:39.4.[3] Then in July he represented the England team at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.[5] On 31 July, Peters won a bronze medal in the 6 miles event before taking on the marathon just 7 days later and despite previously carrying a foot injury.[6]

In the Commonwealth Games marathon Peters reached the stadium in first place, believed to be 17 minutes ahead of the next runner and 10 minutes ahead of the Games record[7] but he collapsed seven times (one of the times laying down for over 2 minutes) and he eventually failed to finish, being disqualified after collapsing into the arms of an official.[8] After covering just 200 metres in 11 minutes, he was stretchered away and never raced again. "I was lucky not to have died that day", he later said.[9]

His games kit, including plimsolls and the special medal which following the games the Duke of Edinburgh sent to Jim inscribed "To a most gallant marathon runner." were given to the Sports Hall of Fame, Vancouver, in 1967 for exhibition.[citation needed]

He served as president of the then recently formed Road Runners Club from 1955–1956. After retiring from competitive athletics, Peters worked as an optician in Mitcham, Surrey, and Chadwell Heath, Essex.[citation needed]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  United Kingdom
1948 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 8th 10,000 metres 31:16.0
1952 Polytechnic Marathon Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:20:42.2 WR
1952 Olympic Games Helsinki, Finland — Marathon DNF
1953 Polytechnic Marathon Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:18:40.2 WR
1953 Enschede Marathon Enschede, Netherlands 1st Marathon 2:19:22
1954 Polytechnic Marathon Windsor, Berkshire, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:17:39.4 WR

References

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  1. ^ "Swede first to win AAA title". Daily Herald. 20 July 1946. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "AAA results". Daily News (London). 22 July 1946. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ a b c "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  4. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Vancouver 1954 Team". Team England. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Driver wins six miles race". Sunday Mirror. 1 August 1954. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Dramatic end to marathon". Weekly Dispatch (London). 8 August 1954. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Peters Ahead, falls 7 times, is disqualified". Weekly Dispatch (London). 8 August 1954. Retrieved 7 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ Keating, Frank (7 January 2007). "'Two steps forward, three to the side. Oh, he's down again'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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Records
Preceded by Men's Marathon World Record Holder
14 June 1952 – 24 August 1958 		Succeeded by
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