Arnold Jackson
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- This article is about the athlete. For the fictional character portrayed by Gary Coleman see "Diff'rent Strokes".
| Olympic medalist | |||
 Arnold Jackson |
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| Medal record | |||
| Men's Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1912 Stockholm | 1500 metres | |
Arnold Nugent Strode-Jackson, DSO (April 5, 1891 - November 13, 1972) was a British athlete, winner of 1500m at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Arnold Jackson entered Brasenose College, Oxford in 1910. He rowed and played football and hockey for the College, being Captain of the Hockey Team. He won the mile race for Oxford against Cambridge three times and was President of the Oxford University Athletic Club.
At Stockholm, American hopes were high to win a gold in 1500 m, as the USA dominated miling at that point, and seven of the runners in the final were from the USA. The race started at a modest 65 second pace, then Norman Taber from USA took the lead and increased the pace. At the bell, Abel Kiviat, a world record holder in 1500 m from USA, came first, followed by Taber and John Paul Jones, a world record holder in the mile from USA. On the last turn, Mel Sheppard and Jackson also joined the crowd on his heels, with Sweden's Ernst Wide closing fast. With 50 yards left, Jackson came even with Kiviat and Taber, as Jones and Wide started to fade. Jackson summoned one last burst and captured the gold in 3:56.8. Kiviat and Taber both clocked 3:56.9, and the photo had to be reviewed before officials handed the silver to Kiviat.
During the World War I Jackson earned the DSO with three bars. The war put an end to his sporting career, for he was wounded three times and left permanently lame. He went on to be a member of the Olympic Council and worked in industry and as a Justice of the Peace in the United States for many years, returning to Oxford to live in the 1960s.
| Olympic champions in men's 1500 m |
|---|
|
1896: Teddy Flack | 1900: Charles Bennett | 1904: Jim Lightbody | 1906: Jim Lightbody | 1908: Mel Sheppard | 1912: Arnold Jackson | 1920: Albert Hill | 1924: Paavo Nurmi | 1928: Harry Larva | 1932: Luigi Beccali | 1936: Jack Lovelock | 1948: Henry Eriksson | 1952: Josy Barthel | 1956: Ron Delany | 1960: Herb Elliott | 1964: Peter Snell | 1968: Kip Keino | 1972: Pekka Vasala | 1976: John Walker | 1980: Sebastian Coe | 1984: Sebastian Coe | 1988: Peter Rono | 1992: FermÃn Cacho | 1996: Noureddine Morceli | 2000: Noah Ngeny | 2004: Hicham El Guerrouj |
| Pre-WWI British Olympic champions in men's athletics |
|---|
| 1900: Alfred Tysoe (800 m) | 1900 Charles Bennett (1500 m) | 1900 John Rimmer (4000 m steeplechase) | 1900 Charles Bennett, John Rimmer, Sydney Robinson, Alfred Tysoe and 1 Australian, Stanley Rowley (5000 m team race) | 1904 Tom Kiely (all around) | 1906 Henry Hawtrey (five miles) | 1906 Emil Voigt (five miles) | 1906 Cornelius Leahy (high jump) | 1906 Peter O'Connor (triple jump) | 1908 Wyndham Halswelle (400 m) | 1908 Arthur Russell (3200 m steeplechase) | 1908 George Larner (3500 m walk & ten miles walk) | 1908 Tim Ahearne (triple jump) | 1912 Arnold Jackson (1500 m) | 1912 David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Victor d'Arcy & William Applegarth (4x100 m relay) |
Categories: 1891 births | 1972 deaths | British middle distance runners | Athletes at the 1912 Summer Olympics | Olympic competitors for Great Britain | British military personnel of World War I | Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford | Companions of the Distinguished Service Order | Olympic gold medalists for Great Britain
