Ainsley Bennett
Encyclopedia
Ainsley Bennett is a British former Olympic and World Championship sprinter from Birmingham
, UK.
. This school coincidentally also produced a Republic of Ireland International cross-country runner, Paul O'Callaghan, who competed in six World Cross Country Running Championships, qualified for the Olympics (although injury prevented him from taking part) and wore the green of Éire from 1982 to 2003 in road, track and cross country races.
Athletics Club, based in Perry Barr
in North Birmingham, and represented Great Britain at the 1976 Olympic Games
held in Montreal, Canada, where he reached the semi-finals of the men's 200m sprint race, as well as being one of the men's 4 x 400m relay team which unfortunately failed to progress further than the first heats.
However, Bennett fared better in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics
in Helsinki
, where he and fellow team-mates Garry Cook
, Todd Bennett
and Philip Brown took the bronze medal in a time of 3:03.53, finishing behind the Soviet Union
and West Germany
.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK.
Early life
Brought up in Birmingham, West Midlands, in the UK, Bennett attended Naseby Secondary Modern School (The school changed its name to Park View in the 1980s, and remains so to this date), in the area known as Alum Rock, BirminghamAlum Rock, Birmingham
Alum Rock is an inner-city suburb of Birmingham, England, located roughly 2 miles east of Birmingham city centre...
. This school coincidentally also produced a Republic of Ireland International cross-country runner, Paul O'Callaghan, who competed in six World Cross Country Running Championships, qualified for the Olympics (although injury prevented him from taking part) and wore the green of Éire from 1982 to 2003 in road, track and cross country races.
Athletics career
Ainsley competed for Birchfield HarriersBirchfield Harriers
Birchfield Harriers is an athletics club, founded in 1877. Its home is at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, England.Named after the Birchfield district of Birmingham, their previous home , at nearby Perry Barr, was Alexander Sports Ground. It still carries their badge, a running stag, rendered in...
Athletics Club, based in Perry Barr
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
in North Birmingham, and represented Great Britain at the 1976 Olympic Games
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
held in Montreal, Canada, where he reached the semi-finals of the men's 200m sprint race, as well as being one of the men's 4 x 400m relay team which unfortunately failed to progress further than the first heats.
However, Bennett fared better in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics
1983 World Championships in Athletics
The inaugural World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between August 7 and August 14, 1983....
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, where he and fellow team-mates Garry Cook
Garry Cook
Garry Cook is a former British athlete, who competed mainly in the 800 metres with a best time of 1:44.55.He competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the Silver medal with his team mates Kriss Akabusi, Todd...
, Todd Bennett
Todd Bennett
Todd Anthony Bennett was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.He competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the Silver medal with his team mates Kriss Akabusi, Garry Cook and Philip...
and Philip Brown took the bronze medal in a time of 3:03.53, finishing behind the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.