Godfrey Lionel Rampling (14 May 1909 – 20 June 2009) was an English athlete and army officer who competed for Great Britain in the
1932 Summer Olympics and in the
1936 Summer Olympics. He
turned 100 on 14 May 2009 and was the oldest living British Olympian at the time of his death.
Life and career
Rampling was born in
Blackheath, London, the son of Gertrude Anne (Taylor) and Horace Johnson Rampling, a costumier.[1] Rampling won the British
AAA championships in the 440 yd (400 m) in 1931 and 1934.
At the
1934 British Empire Games in London, Rampling won the 440 yd (400 m), and helped the English 4×440 yards relay team to capture the gold medal.
At the 1936
BerlinOlympics, Rampling was again fourth in the semifinals of
400 metre competition and ran the second leg on the British 4 × 400 m relay team which won the gold medal.
He married Isabel Anne (née Gurteen; 1918–2001); their younger daughter
Charlotte became a noted model and film actress. Their eldest daughter Sarah committed suicide in 1967.[3]
He was, as of October 2007, the last surviving male athletics medallist from the
1932 Summer Olympics and the last male gold medallist in athletics from the
1936 Summer Olympics.
Rampling was Britain's oldest living Olympic Gold medallist[2] and also oldest living Olympic competitor.[4] He celebrated his centenary with his family on 14 May 2009 at
Bushey in
Hertfordshire.[2]
Rampling died in his sleep aged 100 on 20 June 2009.[5]