David Jacobs (Welsh athlete)
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
File:David Jacobs 1913.jpg
David Jacobs in 1913
|
||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | 30 April 1888 Cardiff, Wales |
|||||||||
Died | 6 June 1976 (aged 88) Llandudno, Conwy, Great Britain |
|||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||
Weight | 70 kg (150 lb) | |||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||
Event(s) | 100–400 m | |||||||||
Club | Herne Hill Harriers, Mitcham | |||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 100 m – 10.8 (1912) 200 m – 21.9e (1912) 440 yd – 49.9e (1913)[1][2] |
|||||||||
Medal record
|
David Henry Jacobs (30 April 1888 – 6 June 1976) was a Welsh-born track and field sprinter. He was the first British Jew to win an Olympic gold medal.[3]
He was born in Cardiff, to John Jacobs (previously Yaakov), who was a general dealer from London. His athletics career started in London with Herne Hill Harriers in 1908.[3] His interest in athletics was aroused by watching the 1908 Olympic Games.
At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Jacobs won a gold medal as the first leg in the British 4×100 m relay team, in spite of finishing second behind the United States in the semifinals. The United States was later disqualified for a fault in passing the baton, the same mistake made in the finals by the world record holder and main favourite German team.
Jacobs also competed in the 100 m and 200 m individual events, but was eliminated in the semifinals.[1]
Although many times Welsh champion, Jacobs never succeeded in winning a AAA title. He retired from active sport after World War I.[1]
He died suddenly in Aberconwy, aged 88, while on holiday from his London home. His body was returned to London, where he was buried in a Jewish cemetery,[3] at East Ham. At the time of his death he was Britain's oldest Olympic gold medalist.[1][4]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Jacobs. |
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- Use dmy dates from November 2012
- Pages with broken file links
- Commons category link is locally defined
- 1888 births
- 1976 deaths
- Sportspeople from Cardiff
- Welsh sprinters
- British sprinters
- Male sprinters
- Jewish athletes (track and field)
- Welsh Jews
- Olympic athletes of Great Britain
- Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- British athletics Olympic medallist stubs
- British athletics biography stubs
- Welsh sportspeople stubs