Arthur Robertson (athlete), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetArthur Robertson (athlete)
British long-distance runner
Date of Birth: 19-Apr-1879
Place of Birth: Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Date of Death: 18-Apr-1957
Profession: long-distance runner
Nationality: United Kingdom
Zodiac Sign: Aries 
About Arthur Robertson (athlete)
- Arthur James Robertson (19 April 1879 – 18 April 1957) was a Scottish runner who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
- He won the gold medal in the 3-mile team race and a silver in the steeplechase. The son of a Glasgow doctor, Robertson was educated at Kelvinside Academy, Glasgow, before moving to King's School, Peterborough at the age of 14.
- A brilliant all-round sportsman, he initially concentrated on cycling and only took up serious athletics at the age of 25, after a cycling injury.In 1906, he joined Birchfield Harriers.
- In March 1908 he won both the English and International Cross-Country Championships and a second-place finish in the 4 mile race at the AAA championship earned him a place at the Olympics. Robertson won easily in the first round of the 3200 metres steeplechase, finishing in 11:10.0.
- In the final, he trailed for most of the race.
- At the bell, he passed one of the two then-leaders, American John Eisele.
- Robertson was not quite able to catch the other leader, however, and trailed fellow Briton Arthur Russell by two yards at the finish.
- His final time was 10:48.4.
- At the same Olympics he won gold as a member of the 3-man 3 mile team race; the first Olympic gold won by a Scottish man and the first by a Birchfield athlete.
- He also participated in the five miles event and finished fifth.
- His brother David was a member of the British cycling team at the same olympics.On 13 September 1908 Robertson set a world record at 15:01.2 over 5,000 metres, running on a concrete cycle track in Stockholm.
- He retired from athletics after 1909 season and returned to cycling.
- Later, together with his brother, he ran a sports shop in Peterborough, and then passed it over to his son.Robertsone was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame in 2004.
- In January 2010, a new J D Wetherspoon pub in Perry Barr, Birmingham (close to Perry Barr Stadium, the former home of Birchfield Harriers) was named 'The Arthur Robertson' in his honour.
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