Edwin Flack
Personal information
Full nameEdwin Harold Flack
NicknameTeddy
NationalityAustralian
Born(1873-11-05)5 November 1873
Islington, London, England
Died10 January 1935(1935-01-10) (aged 61)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Sport
Sport
  • Athletics
  • tennis
Medal record
Olympic Games
Men's athletics
Representing  Australia (AUS)
Gold medal – first place 1896 Athens 800 metres
Gold medal – first place 1896 Athens 1500 metres
Men's tennis
Representing a Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 1896 Athens Doubles

Edwin Harold Flack (5 November 1873 – 10 January 1935)[1] was an Australian athlete and tennis player. Also known as "Teddy",[2] he was Australia's first Olympian, being its only representative in 1896,[3] and the first Olympic champion in the 800 metres and the 1500 metres running events.[4][5]

Following Flack's Olympic appearance, he did not compete in any large events again, opting to breed cattle and help his family's accounting firm. Flack died aged 61 following an operation, and was buried in his hometown of Berwick. He is commemorated there by a bronze statue on High Street and a reserve which includes several sporting grounds. Flack was also inducted into the Sport Australia and Athletics Australia halls of fame in 1985 and 2000, respectively.

Early life

Born in London, England, Edwin Flack was five years old when his family migrated to Australia, to live in Berwick, Victoria. Soon after leaving the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School in 1892, where he studied Greek history, Flack joined his father's accountancy firm, Davey, Flack & Co.[6] From 1892 to 1894, Flack was active in middle and long-distance running in amateur athletics in the then colony of Victoria, competing with the Melburnian Hare & Hounds athletics club.[7] In October 1892 he placed third in the inaugural Victorian 10-mile cross country championship, held at Oakleigh (Park) Racecourse, in a time of 1:02.42.0.[8]

On 9 to 11 November 1893, an intercolonial meet described as the Australasian Athletics Championships was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, between athletes from the British colonies that were later to form the nations of Australia and New Zealand. This was the second such meet, the first having been held at Moore Park in Sydney on 31 May 1890.[9] Flack competed in the 1893 event and won the mile championship in a time of 4:44.0, with a winning margin of two yards.[10] He also competed in the 880 yards (won by Ken McCrae of New South Wales in 2:06.8) and three miles championship (won by Charles Herbert of Victoria in 15:33.6), but was unplaced in both events.[11] By virtue of his win in the mile event he was also awarded the Victorian 1893 mile championship title and, on 30 September 1893, was third in the Victorian 10 mile cross country championship in a time of 1:05.21.[12]

On 15 December 1894, Flack won both the 880 yards (2:07.2) and mile (4:49.4) Victorian 1894 championships and, earlier in the year, on 22 September 1894 was second in the 10-mile cross country championship (1:00.02).[13] The 1894 event was Flack's last appearance in the Victorian Championships. The same year, Flack was sent to London to receive further training as an accountant with the firm Price, Waterhouse & Co (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). Flack joined the London Athletic Club and was intent on attending the coming inaugural Olympics.[7] Flack attended the Olympics as a member of the London Athletic Club, but competed in his Melburnian Hare and Hounds colours.[14]

1896 Olympics

Edwin Flack in Athens in 1896

Flack reached Athens after an uncomfortable six-day rail and sea trip, during which he was plagued with sea sickness.[15] On the opening day of the Games he won his first race, the first heat of the 800 metres run, finishing in a time of 2 min 10.0 sec.[6] On the second day he lined up against the American favourite, Arthur Blake, in the 1500 metres run. Running shoulder to shoulder with Blake in the final straight, Flack powered ahead near the end to win by more than five metres in a time of 4:33.2.[16] On the fourth day of the Games, Flack earned his second first-place medal, winning the 800 metres in 2 min 11.9 sec.[6]

It may be noted that, even by the standards of the time, the times required to win the 800 m and 1,500 m at the first Olympics were slow. Although there was no official world record in that era, by way of comparison, the local 880 yards championship in Flack's home colony of Victoria was won that year in 2:04.4 and the previous year (1895) in 2:03.4.[17][18] At the Australasian Championships of 1896, the mile run was won by New Zealander W. Bennett in a time of 4:28.6 – some 4.6s quicker than Flack's Olympic 1500 m time despite running 100 metres further.[19]

Just a day later, Flack tried for a treble with the marathon event despite never having run a race more than 16 kilometres.[20] He was in second place behind Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux—bronze medallist in the 1500 m run, whom Flack had already beaten—for much of the race. After 30–32 kilometres, the Frenchman dropped out and Flack was left in the lead, but 4–8 kilometres later (sources vary), Flack collapsed.[6][7] In his deliriousness, when a Greek spectator tried to help him, Flack punched him to the ground.[21] Flack was removed from the course and transported to the stadium by a carriage, wherein he was tended to by Prince Nicholas.[22]

Flack also competed in the tennis singles and doubles at the Olympics. He lost in the first round of the singles to Aristidis Akratopoulos of Greece. In the doubles he was paired with an English friend, George S. Robertson. They reached the semi-finals after a walkover in the first round, but lost their only match to Dionysios Kasdaglis of Egypt and Demetrios Petrokokkinos of Greece.[10] They placed third due to their semi-final appearance, but medals for third places were not yet awarded in 1896. The medals were retroactively awarded in January 2008.[23]

Flack was a popular competitor at the 1896 games, and was commonly referred to as the "Lion of Athens".[4][24][25]

Later life

In 1898, Flack returned to Victoria and the Melbourne-based family accounting firm, renamed Flack and Flack.[26] Flack purchased a property near Berwick, where he stayed on weekends and bred Friesian cattle. He never competed for Victoria again (or for Australia after the country was formed in 1901), but he joined the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and was part of the first Australian delegation to attend an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Congress.[27] After developing heart problems, Flack died in 1935, following an operation at a private hospital. He was cremated and his ashes were interred at Berwick Cemetery.[4][3]

Legacy

Memorial for Flack in Berwick, Victoria

Flack is commemorated by a bronze statue on the median strip of High St, Berwick,[4] which was unveiled in 1998 by former running great and later Governor of Victoria, John Landy.[28] The former Berwick Recreational Reserve was renamed Edwin Flack Reserve in 1996 to honour the town's first Olympic hero and medal winner,[27] and includes several sporting grounds including an athletics track, an Australian rules football oval, netball courts and soccer pitch. Melbourne Grammar School's sporting complex at Port Melbourne has been named Edwin Flack Park in honour of their past student.[29]

Flack was commemorated on a 45-cent Australian postage stamp in the Olympic centenary year of 1996.[27] The AOC named one of the streets alongside Stadium Australia at Homebush Bay in Sydney, the venue of the 2000 Summer Olympics, as Edwin Flack Avenue.[4] In 1985, Flack was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame,[22] and he was inducted into the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.[30] Athletics Australia's Edwin Flack Award, which is awarded to "an athlete who has rendered distinguished service to athletics", is named in his honour.[31]

Flack was portrayed by English actor Benedict Taylor in the 1984 television mini-series The First Olympics: Athens 1896.[32]

References

  1. ↑ Clarke, Ron. "Edwin Harold Flack (1873–1935)". Flack, Edwin Harold (1873–1935). Australian National University. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ Jobling, Ian (2018). "'Teddy' Flack was the 'Lion of Athens'" (PDF). International Society of Olympic Historians. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Edwin Flack". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Edwin Flack – Our first Olympic champion". City of Casey. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ "Edwin Flack Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Edwin Flack becomes Australia's first Olympian". www.nma.gov.au. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 "Edwin Flack (1873–1935)". Athletics Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Athletics Victoria Historical Results, Victorian Men's Championships, 1892". athsvic.org.au. Athletics Victoria. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Athletics Australia Historical Results". athhistory.imgstg.com. Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Edwin Flack (AUS) — 800 m, 1500 m, marathon (et tennis)" [Edwin Flack (AUS) — 800 m, 1500 m, marathon (and tennis)] (in French). Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Athletics Australia Historical Results". athhistory.sportstg.com. Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Athletics Victoria Historical Results, Victorian Men's Championships, 1893". athsvic.org.au. Athletics Victoria. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Athletics Victoria Historical Results, Victorian Men's Championships, 1894". athsvic.org.au. Athletics Victoria. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  14. ↑ The Sun (Sydney Newspaper), Monday 24 July 1911, page 6, Interview with Edwin Flack titled "The Best I Ever Saw", https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/221552082?searchTerm=%22london%20athletic%20club%22%20and%20flack
  15. ↑ Campbell, Paul (5 August 2016). "Uber driver makes it to Rio to see his son compete thanks to passenger's kindness". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  16. ↑ Robertson, Robin (4 August 1992). "First Australian Olympian's sporting effort". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  17. ↑ "Athletics Victoria, Men's Championship Results, 1895". Athletics Victoria. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Athletics Victoria, Men's Championships Results, 1896". Athletics Victoria. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "1896 Australasian Championships Results". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. ↑ "Meet our alumni: Mr Edwin Harold Flack OM 1890". Melbourne Grammar School. 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  21. ↑ Lennon, Troy (6 April 2016). "Delirious Aussie Edwin Flack punched a spectator during running of the first modern marathon". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Edwin Flack". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. 1985. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  23. ↑ Rout, Miranda. "First Olympic champion gets a bronze for 'just being there'". The Australian. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  24. ↑ "Flack on the track". The Age. Melbourne. 29 July 2000. p. 273. Retrieved 2 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Swanton, Will (10 August 2019). "Sally Pearson's picks to improve our track record". The Australian. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  26. ↑ "First Games". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 25 November 1956. p. 25. Retrieved 2 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Flack was a Victorian cattle-breeder and director of several companies when he died at 59 in Melbourne 21 years ago, after an operation. He never married but is survived by his elder brother, Henry, his partner in the accountancy firm of Flack and Flack.
  27. 1 2 3 "25 things you probably didn't know about Edwin Flack". City of Casey. Archived from the original on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  28. ↑ Nichols, Rochelle Llewelyn (2014). Joe Quinn Among the Rowdies: The Life of Baseball's Honest Australian. McFarland & Company. p. 162. ISBN 9781476615318. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  29. ↑ "Venue Details". apssports.sportzvault.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  30. ↑ "Edwin Flack". Athletics Australia. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  31. ↑ "Short and Petrie honoured with Edwin Flack Award". Athletics Australia. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  32. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (20 May 1984). "Squeezing Inspiration from the 1896 Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  • FitzSimons, Peter (2006). Great Australian Sports Champions. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-7322-8517-8.
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