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John Rimmer (athlete)

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John Rimmer
Personal information
Born27 April 1878
Birkdale, England
Died6 June 1962 (aged 84)
Anfield, Liverpool, England
Sport
SportAthletics
Eventmiddle-distance running
ClubSouthport Harriers
Medal record
Men's athletics
Olympic Games
Representing  Great Britain
Gold medal – first place 1900 Paris 4000 metres steeplechase
Representing a Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 1900 Paris 5000 metres team race

John Thomas Rimmer (27 April 1878 – 6 June 1962) was a British athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Rimmer won the AAA Championships in 4 miles (6.4 km) at the 1900 AAA Championships.[1][2] He was born in Birkdale, Merseyside.[3][4] With two, he jointly held the record for the most Olympic titles in athletics by a British athlete.[5]

Biography

At the Paris Olympics, Rimmer at first participated in the 1500 metres competition, where he finished between seventh and ninth place.[6] On the next day, Rimmer won the gruelling 4000 m steeplechase, beating teammate Charles Bennett by one and half yards.[7] Together with Bennett, Alfred Tysoe, Sidney Robinson and Stan Rowley, Rimmer won a second Olympic title in 5000 m team race, finishing second behind Bennett.[8]

As well as his AAA 4-mile win in 1900,[9] he also came third three years in succession in the 10-mile race from 1899 to 1901.[3] Rimmer also won the 1899 District cross-country event running as a member of Liverpool Harriers AC before joining Southport Harriers, he was unable to defend the title due to the club being outside the District, but he did win the title again in 1909 when running for Sefton Harriers, for whom he became president in 1951 till his death.[10]

Rimmer joined the Liverpool City Police in 1901 and retired as sergeant 30 years later. He continued to run until he was well over the 50 years of age.[3]

John Rimmer died in Anfield, Liverpool, aged 84.

He was proclaimed the "Fastest White Guy in Europe in 1900" on 13 April 2009 as part of the Europe Athletic Association (EAA) awards.

References

  1. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  2. ^ "The Amateur Athletic Association Championships". Sporting Life. 9 July 1900. Retrieved 30 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jack Rimmer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. ^ "John Rimmer". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. ^ Guinness Book of Records 1988
  6. ^ "Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 1,500 metres". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 4,000 metres Steeplechase". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Athletics at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's 5,000 metres, Team". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  9. ^ "BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1876-1914". gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  10. ^ "PART ONE – From 1882 to World War II" (PDF). liverpoolharriers.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.

Jack Rimmer was a member of Sefton Harriers from 1900 and was their president until his death in 1962

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