Percy Hodge Explained

Birth Date:26 December 1890
Birth Place:Saint Sampson, Guernsey
Death Date:27 December 1967 (aged 77)
Death Place:Bexhill-on-Sea, England
Sport:Athletics
Event:Steeplechase
Club:Surrey AC, Kingston-upon-Thames
Pb:440 yd – 50.2 (1917)
800 m – 1:58.5e (1921)
Mile – 4:32.6 (1916)
3000 mS – 10:00.4 (1920)
Show-Medals:yes

Percy Hodge (26 December 1890  - 27 December 1967) was a British athlete, winner of the 3000 m steeplechase at the 1920 Summer Olympics.[1]

Career

Hodge was born in Guernsey, but then moved to Weymouth and Bournemouth, finally settling in Bexhill-on-Sea. He became the National 2 miles steeplechase champion after winning the AAA Championships title at the 1919 AAA Championships.[2] [3]

The following year in 1920, he retained his AAA title[4] despite his shoe fallling off in the second lap causing him to stop and lose some 100 yards, yet he won the race by a margin of 75 yards. He also finished ninth at the International Cross Country Championships and helped his team to win a first place in 1920. Shortly after he was selected for the Olympic Games. The 1920 Summer Olympics were the first to include a (now common) 3000 m steeplechase. This was run on a grass course, unlike later competitions. Percy Hodge was the favourite, easily winning his heat and outrunning the rest of the field. He won the final in a time of 10:00.4, some 100 m ahead of second-placed Patrick Flynn from the United States. Hodge also ran in the heats of the 3000 m team event, in which Great Britain won a silver medal.

Hodge retained his AAA title again in 1921[5] [6] and 1923.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Percy Hodge . Olympedia . 15 July 2021.
  2. News: AAA Championships . Daily Herald . 7 July 1919 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription . 21 November 2024 .
  3. News: Amateur Champions . Daily Record . 7 July 1919 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription . 21 November 2024 .
  4. News: The Athletic Championships . Weekly Dispatch (London) . 4 July 1920 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 23 November 2024 .
  5. News: Athletics . Northern Whig . 2 July 1921 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 30 November 2024 .
  6. News: Where Britain leads . Birmingham Daily Gazette . 4 July 1921 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 30 November 2024 .
  7. Web site: AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists . National Union of Track Statisticians . 21 November 2024 .