Achilles Club
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The Achilles Club is a track and field club by and for the past and present representatives of the Oxford and Cambridge Universities. As of 2025, members have won 19 Olympic gold medals and held 38 World Records.
Membership
Athletes that have competed in the annual varsity match are invited to join the club, in addition to Blues, Half Blues, Cross Country, Marathon, Relay and Field Event Colours, members from Alverstone, Centipedes, Alligators and Millipedes representatives (the varsity second teams), and recommendations by the University Presidents.
History
The club was formed in 1920. One of its founding members was Evelyn Montague, who, along with Harold Abrahams, is portrayed in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
Olympians
- Athletics Olympians only and English unless stated
| Athlete | Events | Games | Medals/Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Gmelin (O) | 400 | 1896 | |
| George Robertson (O) | discus throw, shot put | 1896 | |
| United States Wesley Coe (O) | shot put | 1904, 1908 | |
| Eric Hussey (O) | 110h | 1908 | |
| Edward Leader (C) | 110h, high jump | 1908 | |
| Norman Hallows (O) | 1500, 3 mile team | 1908 | |
| Christopher Chavasse (O) | 400 | 1908 | |
| Edward Ryle (C) | 400 | 1908 | |
| Theodore Just (C) | 800, medley relay | 1908 | |
| Harold Holding (O) | 800 | 1908 | |
| Walter Henderson (O) | discus, Greek, javelin, slj, shj | 1908, 1912 | |
| Ernest May (O) | discus, Greek, javelin | 1908 | |
| Alfred Bellerby (C) | high jump, long jump | 1908 | |
| Alan Fyffe (O) | hammer | 1908 | |
| Scotland Robert Lindsay-Watson (C) | hammer | 1908 | |
| Charles Williams (C) | long jump | 1908 | |
| Wilfred Bleaden (O) | long jump, slj | 1908 | |
| Lionel Cornish (O) | long jump, slj | 1908 | |
| Arthur Anderson (C) | 100, 200 | 1912 | |
| Arnold Jackson (O) | 1500 | 1912 | |
| Philip Noel-Baker (C) | 800, 1500 | 1912 | |
| United States Norman Taber (O) | 1500, 3000 team | 1912 | |
| William Moore (O) | 1500, 3000 team | 1912 | |
| Duncan Macmillan (C) | 200 | 1912 | |
| Cyril Porter (O) | 3000 team, 5000 | 1912 | |
| Sidney Abrahams (C) | long jump | 1912 | |
| South Africa Bevil Rudd (O) | 400, 4x400, 800 | 1920 | |
| Harold Abrahams (C) | 100, 200, 4x100, long jump | 1920, 1924 | |
| William Seagrove (C) | 3000 team, 5000 | 1920, 1924 | |
| John Ainsworth-Davis (C) | 400, 4x400 | 1920 | |
| Guy Butler (C) | 4x400, 400 | 1920, 1924, 1928 | |
| Australia Wilfrid Kent Hughes (O) | 400h | 1920 | |
| Edgar Mountain (C) | 800 | 1920, 1924 | |
| New Zealand Arthur Porritt (O) | 100, 200 | 1924 | |
| Lord Burghley (C) | 110h, 400h, 4x400 | 1924, 1928, 1932 | |
| Leopold Partridge (C) | 110h | 1924 | |
| Hyla Stallard (C) | 800, 1500 | 1924 | |
| Douglas Lowe (C) | 4x400, 800, 1500 | 1924, 1928 | |
| United States Bayes Norton (O) | 200 | 1924 | |
| United States William Stevenson (O) | 4x400 | 1924 | |
| George Renwick (O) | 4x400 | 1924 | |
| Canada David Johnson (O) | 400, 4x400 | 1924 | |
| Wilfrid Tatham (C) | 400h, 800 | 1924, 1928 | |
| Ralph Starr (C) | 800, 5000 | 1924, 1928 | |
| South Africa Clifford Davis (C) | 800 | 1924 | |
| South Africa Lawrence Roberts (C) | high jump | 1924 | |
| Robert Dickinson (O) | high jump | 1924 | |
| Arthur Willis (C) | high jump | 1924 | |
| Malcolm Nokes (O) | hammer | 1924, 1928 | |
| Chris Mackintosh (O) | long jump | 1924 | |
| James Campbell (C) | pole vault | 1924 | |
| Rex Woods (C) | shot put | 1924, 1928 | |
| South Africa George Weightman-Smith (C) | 110h | 1928 | |
| New Zealand Wilfrid Kalaugher (O) | 110h, triple jump | 1928 | |
| Vernon Morgan (O) | 3000 steeplechase | 1928 | |
| Edward Smouha (C) | 4x100 | 1928 | |
| John Rinkel (C) | 400m, 4x400 | 1928 | |
| Roger Leigh-Wood (O) | 400m, 4x400 | 1928 | |
| Tom Livingstone-Learmonth (C) | 400h | 1928 | |
| Lance Percival (O) | 400h | 1928 | |
| Colin Gordon (O) | high jump | 1928 | |
| Howard Ford (C) | Decathlon | 1928 | |
| Carl van Geyzel (C) | high jump | 1928 | |
| James Cohen (C) | long jump | 1928 | |
| Reg Revans (C) | long jump | 1928 | |
| Laurence Bond (C) | pole vault | 1928 | |
| Robert Howland (C) | shot put | 1928 | |
| Roland Harper (O) | 110h | 1932 | |
| Jerry Cornes (O) | 1500 | 1932, 1936 | |
| United States Norwood Hallowell (O) | 1500 | 1932 | |
| New Zealand Jack Lovelock (O) | 1500 | 1932, 1936 | |
| Tommy Hampson (C) | 800, 4x400 | 1932 | |
| Republic of Ireland Bob Tisdall (C) | 400h, decathlon | 1932 | |
| Alan Pennington (O) | 100, 200, 4x100 | 1936 | |
| John Thornton (C) | 110h | 1936 | |
| Ashleigh Pilbrow (O) | 110h | 1936 | |
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vane Ivanović (C) | 110h | 1936 | |
| Gordon Brown (C) | 400m, 4x400 | 1936 | |
| Peter Ward (C) | 5000 | 1936, 1948 | |
| Czechoslovakia Josef Klein (C) | Decathlon | 1936 | |
| Norway Helge Sivertsen (O) | discus | 1936 | |
| Robert Kennedy (C) | high jump | 1936 | |
| Richard Webster (C) | pole vault | 1936, 1948 | |
| India Eric Prabhakar (O) | 100, 200 | 1948 | |
| Raymond Barkway (O) | 110h | 1948 | |
| John Fairgrieve (C) | 200 | 1948 | |
| Geoffrey Tudor (O) | 3000 steeplechase | 1948 | |
| Peter Curry (O) | 3000 steeplechase | 1948 | |
| Morville Chote (C) | javelin | 1948 | |
| Harry Askew (C) | long jump | 1948 | |
| Peter Hildreth (C) | 110h | 1952, 1956, 1960 | |
| Roger Bannister (O) | 1500 | 1952 | |
| Nicolas Stacey (O) | 200, 4x400 | 1952 | |
| Chris Brasher (C) | 3000 steeplechase | 1952, 1956 | |
| Alan Dick (O) | 4x400 | 1952 | |
| Angus Scott (C) | 400h | 1952 | |
| Christopher Chataway (O) | 5000 | 1952, 1956 | |
| Tim Anderson (C) | pole vault | 1952 | |
| Ian Boyd (O) | 1500 | 1956 | |
| Derek Johnson (O) | 4x400, 800 | 1956 | |
| Bob Shaw (O) | 400h | 1956 | |
| Tom Farrell (C) | 400h, 800 | 1956, 1960 | |
| Barclay Palmer (O) | shot put | 1956 | |
| Australia Herb Elliott (C) | 1500 | 1960 | |
| Michael Palmer (C) | 3000 steeplechase | 1960 | |
| John Metcalf (O) | 400h | 1960 | |
| Bruce Tulloh (C) | 5000 | 1960 | |
| India Ranjit Bhatia (O) | 5000 | 1960 | |
| New Zealand Donal Smith (O) | 800 | 1960 | |
| Mike Parker (C) | 110h | 1964, 1968 | |
| Adrian Metcalfe (O) | 400, 4x400 | 1964 | |
| Trinidad and Tobago Wendell Mottley (C) | 400, 4x400 | 1964 | |
| Mike Hogan (O) | 400h | 1964 | |
| John Boulter (O) | 800, 1500 | 1964, 1968 | |
| Michael Ralph (O) | triple jump | 1964 | |
| Trinidad and Tobago Euric Bobb (C) | 4x400 | 1968 | |
| Martin Winbolt-Lewis (C) | 400, 4x400 | 1968 | |
| David Hemery (O) | 400h, 4x400 | 1968, 1972 | |
| Tim Johnston (C) | Marathon | 1968 | |
| Jon Ridgeon (C) | 110h, 400h | 1988, 1996 | |
| Richard Nerurkar (O) | 10000, marathon | 1992, 1996 | |
| Canada Tim Berrett (O) | 20k walk, 50k walk | 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 | |
| Andy Baddeley (C) | 1500 | 2008, 2012 | |
| Mara Yamauchi (O) | marathon | 2008, 2012 | |
| Hatti Dean (O) | 3000M steeplechase injured | 2008 | |
| Julia Bleasdale (C) | 5000m, 10,000m | 2012 | |
| Claire Hallissey (C) | marathon | 2012 | |
| Louise Shanahan (C) | 800m | 2020 |
(key: O=Oxford C=Cambridge slj=standing long jump, shj=standing high jump)