Athlete

Born: October 11, 1924;

Died: November 19, 2015

MAL Whitfield, who has died aged 91, was a celebrated athlete and the world’s foremost two lap runner between 1948 and 1954, twice winning Olympic gold over 800 metres during that time, in 1948 in London and in 1952 in Helsinki, the former in a new Olympic record.

Known as Marvellous Mal in recognition of his prowess, he was a beautifully elegant runner and master tactician. Cordner Nelson, the celebrated American athletics commentator, wrote "He was always cool and poised. He could jockey through any field, follow any pace and hold his own in any drive along the straight.”

In addition to those two gold medals, he won gold in 1948 in the 4 x 400 metres relay and bronze in the individual 400 metres while in Helsinki he collected silver in the 4 x 400 metres. Although he always ran to win rather than set records, he did create several world records, including two at half mile. He also used to double up frequently, running both the 400 and 800 in the one afternoon, not ideal for record breaking.

Despite that, he did complete some memorable doubles, as at Eskiltuna, Sweden in 1953, when he set a world record over 1,000m and, within an hour, an American record over the 440 yards. As a double Olympic 800 metre gold medallist, he is one of an exclusive club of three, the others being Britain’s Douglas Lowe in 1924 and ’28 and New Zealand’s Peter Snell in 1960 and ’64.

Prior to the London Olympics, Whitfield had never competed internationally and was not favourite for the event, that mantle belonging to Arthur Wint, the well-known Jamaican athlete with the Scottish mother. Wint had already won the 400m title at these Games.

However, Whitfield had worked out his tactics carefully. Knowing Wint had greater finishing speed, he injected a burst of pace down the back straight to set up a five yard lead off the final bend, which was enough to enable him to breast the tape first.

In1952 Wint was again his main rival, although by then Whitfield’s flat speed had improved. He edged ahead in the final straight to hold Wint off to win by two yards. Afterwards he said "I played it safe. I felt I could win that way. I had plenty left.”

The 4 x 400 relay provided a fitting finale to the Helsinki Games. In an enthralling race, over the last leg Jamaica’s Olympic 400 metres champion George Rhoden just pipped Whitfield to the tape, both being given the same split time with both teams shattering the USA’s world record by more than 4 seconds.

Other career highlights included a clutch of American titles and triple gold medal success at the Pan American Games of 1951 in Buenos Aires at 400m, 800m, and 4 x 400m relay. Between 1948 and 1954, he lost only three out of 69 two lap races.

He also ran in Scotland. Back in the day, the Rangers’ Sports was a prestigious meeting attracting some of the world’s biggest names to Ibrox and 1950 was no exception, featuring stars such as sprinter MacDonald Bailey, Arthur Wint, future Olympic steeplechase champion Horace Ashenfelter and Whitfield who comfortably won the half mile off scratch.

In the process he set a new Scottish All Comers’ record while in second, off a handicap of 24 yards, was former Scottish champion, Edinburgh’s Jimmy Smart, later a well known athletics official, demonstrating the gulf between world class and domestic level. Edinburgh’s Highland Games at Murrayfield was also a high profile event at this time and in 1952 attracted Whitfield, Jamaican Olympic champions Herb McKenley and George Rhoden, and Olympic shot putt champion Parry O’Brien among others. In front of a crowd of 50,000, Whitfield won the half mile as well as the 220 yards.

He first became interested in athletics after watching black American Eddie Tolan win the 100m sprint at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932. Whitfield’s upbringing was far from easy. When very young his family moved to the Watts district of Los Angeles, later synonymous with race riots. His father died when he was aged four and his mother when he was aged 12, resulting in his sister adopting him and bringing him up.

After Jefferson High School, he joined the US Air Force in 1943, becoming one of the Tuskegee Airmen, an exclusively African American aviator corps, so called as their original base was near Tuskegee in Alabama. Most of his war service was spent with a Fighter Group based in Ohio and when war finished he attended Ohio State University while still serving in the Air Force. When the Korean War broke out, he was recalled to service and as a tail gunner flew on 27 bombing missions over North Korea. He later recalled, "As a staff sergeant I flew combat missions with 13th Squadron. Sometimes I trained on icy Korean airstrips with a pistol strapped to my waist.”

In 1954 he became the first black recipient of the James E Sullivan award for America’s most outstanding sportsman of the year. It did not escape his notice that to access the room where the ceremony was held he was not allowed to use the ‘normal’ lift but had to access it via the service lift.

He also experienced racism at times during his military service. This led to his involvement in the civil rights movement from a sporting perspective, calling for a boycott of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. "American negro athletes have to join the civil rights fight," he said. "It’s time for the USA to live up to its promises of Liberty, Equality and Justice for all or is it a country where the colour of your skin takes precedence over the quality of one’s mind or character?” His stance foreshadowed the famous Black Power demonstration by black American athletes on the podium at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

When his running career finished, he was appointed a sporting ambassador for the US Foreign Service and spent many years in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean promoting and developing sporting opportunities for as wide a cross section of youngsters as possible. He reckoned he had visited 132 countries in this role and was tireless in pursuit of his aims.

Once retired, he set up his own Foundation to continue this work. Paying him tribute at a White House reception, President Reagan said, "Whether flying missions over Korea, or winning gold medals at the Olympics or as a goodwill ambassador among the young athletes of Africa,the country is proud of you and grateful to you.”

JACK DAVIDSON