Alfred Tysoe (original) (raw)

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British athlete

Alfred Tysoe
Personal information
Born 21 March 1874Padiham, near Burnley England
Died 26 October 1901 (aged 27)Blackpool, England
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event middle distance
Club Salford Harriers
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Great Britain Olympic Games Gold medal – first place 1900 Paris 800 metres Representing a Mixed team Gold medal – first place 1900 Paris 5000 metre team race

Alfred Ernest Tysoe (21 March 1874 – 26 October 1901) was an English athlete, and winner of two gold medals at the 1900 Olympic Games representing Great Britain.[1]

Born in the Old Vicarage, Padiham, near Burnley England, Tysoe ran part-time with the Skerton Harriers running team while still working as a farm labourer.

Tysoe winning the Olympic 800 m

Alfred Tysoe's grave

In 1896, he won the Northern Counties 1000y and one mile titles. His running successes brought him to the attention of Harold Hardwick, founder of Salford Harriers in 1884; in 1897 Tysoe was persuaded to join the Salford club. Within his first year with Salford Harriers, he had won the Amateur Athletic Association Championships in the one and ten miles events at the 1897 AAA Championships.[2][3]

In 1898, he helped the team to win their sixth National Cross Country championship.

At the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, Tysoe was a favourite in the 800m, having just one week before the games won the 1900 AAA Championships in 1:57.8.[4] He won easily, beating John Cregan from the United States by 3 yards. He also won a gold medal as part of the British team in the 5000m team race.

This proved to be his last season on the running track. In 1901, he became severely ill with pleurisy and died at his home in Blackpool, aged 27.

He is buried in Layton Cemetery, Blackpool. His gravestone reads: "In loving memory of Alfred Ernest Tysoe. Amateur Champion half-mile runner of the world.

Born 21 March 1874, Died 26 October 1901. 'Brief life is here our portion, brief sorrow, short-lived care. The life that knows no ending, the tearless life is there.' This stone was erected by the many admirers of this famous athlete, by whom he was held in the highest esteem."

  1. ^ "Alfred Tysoe". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Amateur Athletic Championships". Nottingham Guardian. 5 July 1897. Retrieved 30 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "The Amateur Athletic Association Championships". Sporting Life. 9 July 1900. Retrieved 30 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.