Duncan White
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 1948 London | 400 metre hurdles | |
Duncan White MBE (born March 1, 1918 in Lathpandura – died July 3, 1998 in Warwickshire) was the first Sri Lankan athlete to win a medal for his country in an Olympic event. He won a silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.
White was born on March 1, 1918 in Lathpandura near Kalutara, in the then British-ruled Ceylon, the second of four children of John Bernard White and Cecilia Hawk White. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy where he was awarded 'Trinity Lion' for athletics; this was subsequently withdrawn from him due to minor disciplinary reasons. White won his Olympic medal the same year Ceylon gained independence from Britain. He had trained for only about 3 months before the games while the gold medalist, Roy Cochran of the USA, had trained for about 4 years. White's time for the event, 51.8 seconds, was only 0.7 seconds behind Cochran, which along with Cochran's time bettered the existing Olympic record.
After the Olympic victory, White was welcomed at a ceremony at Trinity, and was honoured by returning his 'Lion'. Making a speech at the special assembly, White stated that "although my victory at the Olympics is prestigious, the 'Lion' makes me feel more honoured than that", and received the 'Lion' with open arms.
In the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, White won the 440-yard hurdles, only 0.3 seconds behind the world record. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1949 but only many years later in 1988 was he honored by his Sri Lankan homeland by a postage stamp. White died in 1998 in Warwickshire, England.
White was married to Angela White née Siebel, and had six children: Nita, Marylene, Fiona, Dan, Maxine and Chris. He had three brothers, Frederick A. White, also an athlete, Stanley Leonard White and Douglas Andrew White (died 1960).
