Tommy Godwin (cyclist born 1912)
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Godwin in 1939
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Edward Godwin |
| Born | 1912 United Kingdom
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| Died | 1975 |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road – Endurance rider |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | All-rounder |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 1926–1938 | Potteries CC |
| ^Birchfield CC | |
| ^Rickmansworth CC | |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1939–1940 | Rickmansworth CC |
| ^Raleigh-Sturmy Archer | |
| Major wins | |
|
More than 200 Amateur and Professional in 500 days (May 1940) |
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More than 200 Amateur and Professional
Road and Time Trial Events
World Endurance record for a single year
- 75,065 miles (120,805 km) in 1939
Thomas Edward Godwin (1912–1975) was an English cyclist who held the world cycling record for most miles covered in a year (75,065 miles or 120,805 kilometres) and still holds the fastest completion of 100,000 mi (160,000 km).
In 1939, Godwin entered the Golden Book of Cycling as the greatest long-distance rider in the world. He rode 75,065 mi (120,805 km) in a year, averaging over 200 miles (320 km) per day. This record stood until 2016.
Godwin was born in 1912 in Stoke on Trent. To help support his family he worked as a delivery boy for a greengrocer (or newsagent) and with the job came a heavy bike with metal basket. The basket was hacked off and the 14-year-old Godwin won his first 25-mile (40 km) time trial in 65 minutes.
After his initial time trial success he subsequently clocked inside 1 hour 2 minutes for 25 miles on four occasions, and covered 236 miles in 12 hours.
In 1933 he earned the seventh award in the 'Best All-rounder Road Riding Competition, open to all amateur cyclists in the United Kingdom. His average speed was 21.255 mph. His individual performances were :
Godwin left his amateur status at Potteries CC to join Rickmansworth Cycling Club as a professional. After more than 200 road and time trial wins, the mileage record beckoned.
In 1911 the weekly magazine Cycling began a competition for the highest number of 100-mile rides or "centuries" in a single year. The winner was Marcel Planes with 332 centuries in which he covered 34,366 miles (55,307 km). The inspiration for the competition was said to be the efforts of Harry Long, a commercial traveller who rode a bicycle on his rounds covering every part of England and Scotland and who covered 25,376 miles (40,839 km) in 1910. The world record for distance cycled in a year began in an era when bicycle companies competed to show their machines were the most reliable. The record was officially established nine times up to 1939. A tenth claim in 1972, by the English rider Ken Webb, was later disallowed.
In January 2016 Godwin's very long-standing record was broken. The American Kurt Searvogel completed 76,076 miles (122,432 km) in one year, confirmed by the Ultramarathon Cycling Association, and this was later also recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.
In 1937 the Australian Ossie Nicholson had regained his record from Briton Walter Greaves by covering 62,657.6 mi (100,837.6 km). At 5 am on 1 January 1939 Godwin set out to bring the record home. He wasn't alone; two other British riders started that day, Edward Swann and Bernard Bennett. Swann crashed after 939.6 mi (1,512.1 km), but Bennett fought it out with Godwin for the rest of the year. In sportsmanship their support teams, which included pace-makers, stopped at 50,000 mi (80,000 km) to let the riders complete the attempt on personal merit. Godwin was sponsored by the Raleigh Bicycle Company and Sturmey-Archer.
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