London Athletic Club

London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013. More than sixty athletes connected with the club have since become Olympians and top athletics administrators in Britain. The club is currently based at Barn Elms, in West London.

London Athletic Club’s colours are Classic Green and Old Gold. The club's kit includes a green vest with a single horizontal gold band. Inside the gold band on the front of the vest is the name of the club or the club’s crest.

Over sixty members of London Athletic Club have competed at the Olympic Games. Australian Teddy Flack won the first Olympic medals for the club: double gold in the 800 and 1500 metres at the first modern Olympics in Athens. The London Olympics of 1908 saw 28 club members representing the UK and Wyndham Halswelle winning gold in the 400 metres by a controversial walkover. Several club members competed at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm including Sidney Abrahams (Long Jump) and Philip Noel-Baker (800 and 1500 metres), who also captained the British Olympic team at Antwerp in 1920 after World War I. Also running for Britain at the Antwerp Olympics were R A Lindsay and Guy Butler in the winning 4 x 400 metre relay team. Guy Butler went on to win Olympic medals again in the 1924 Paris Olympics and the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928. Other club members had Olympic success in 1924 and 1928. In the 100 metres in 1924 Harold Abrahams won gold and Arthur Porritt won bronze while in the 800 metres Douglas Lowe won gold. In 1928 Lord Burghley won gold in the 400 metre hurdles and Douglas Lowe took the gold medal in the 800 metres. Douglas Neame (110 metre hurdles) and Vernon Morgan (3000 metre steeplechase) also competed at the 1928 Olympics. Club members Jack Powell (800 metres) and Roly Harper (110 metre hurdles) competed at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. Pre-World-War II Olympic success continued with Frederick Wolff leading Britain’s 4 x 400 metres relay team to gold in Berlin in 1936, Brian McCabe reaching the 800 metres final and John Powell reaching the semi-final . After WWII, at the 1948 London Olympics, Michael Pope competed in the 400 metre hurdles. Four years later, John Disley won bronze in the 3000 metre steeplechase in Helsinki in 1952 and later became synonymous with the London Marathon. Javelin thrower Richard (Dick) Miller from Northern Ireland and hurdler Jack Parker also represented Great Britain at the 1952 summer olympics. Jack Parker along with fellow hurdler Harry Kane competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne in the 110 metre and 400 meter hurdles respectively. The high-jumper Geoff Parsons, who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, reached the final in 1988.

...
Wikipedia