Victor Aitken

Australian long-distance runner

Victor Aitken
Personal information
Victor Aitken, 1909.
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1887-05-23)23 May 1887 Coburg, Victoria, Australia
Died	31 October 1962(1962-10-31) (aged 75) Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Event	Marathon

Victor Aitken (23 May 1887 – 31 October 1962)^[1] was an Australian long-distance runner. He competed in the men's marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics.^[2] He was a non-smoker and teetotaller.

Aitken's first notable achievement in athletics was when he came second in the 1905 one-mile walking championship of Victoria and he also came second in the 1907 5-mile championship of Victoria in Ballarat. He them came first in the 7-mile open handicap at Heidelberg and the 10-mile championship of Victoria breaking the record by completing it in 59 minutes and 5 seconds.

In 1908 Aitken was selected as a Marathon representative for the Olympic Games in London and he ran twenty-two and a half miles before retiring due to "sleepiness". A week after arriving home from the Olympics he came sixth in the 10-mile championship. In 1909 he achieved record times in his three and five-mile club races and he broke his own record in the 10-mile championship of Victoria by 19 seconds.^[3]

References

^ Victor Aitken at Olympedia
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Victor Aitken Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
^ "TEN-MILE C.C.C. OF VICTORIA-WON BY VIC. AITKEN". Table Talk. Melbourne, VIC. 23 September 1909. p. 33. Retrieved 10 January 2021.