George Butterfield (1879 – 24 September 1917) was a British athlete running for Darlington Harriers. He ran the world's fastest mile in 1906, and competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. ^[1]

Born in Stockton on Tees, ^[2] Butterfield came in second in his semifinal heat in the 800 metres with a time of 1:58.9. ^[3] His finish, while behind Ödön Bodor's, was ahead of defending champion James Lightbody's. Butterfield did not advance to the final. ^[4]

He also competed in the 1500 metres, placing third in his initial semifinal heat and not advancing to the final. Butterfield's time was 4:11.8; Mel Sheppard had set a new Olympic record at 4:05.0 in winning the heat and eliminating Butterfield and the other five runners.

Butterfield was killed in action during the First World War, ^[5] serving as a private with the Royal Garrison Artillery. He was buried in the Birr Cross Roads Cemetery. ^[6]

His obituary in the Northern Despatch recorded that he had once raced against a greyhound. The dog came second. ^[3]

See also

• List of Olympians killed in World War I

References

External links

• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
• De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2006.