Freddie green

Full Name: Frederick Green.

Date of Birth: 25 July 1926 - Died: 17 July 2006 in Perth, Australia.

Born: Birmingham.

Club: Birchfield Harriers.

Coach(s): Tom Richards, Jack Emery.

Career summary

Making It In The Midlands

Freddie Green started his career by securing his first title while still a teenager - and doing it on virtually home soil. Birmingham-born and a member of Birchfield Harriers, he won the Midland Junior Mile in 1944, and within a decade he was a world record-holder.

A Brief Impact

In 1954, history. Roger Bannister became the first man to run under four minutes for the mile and then in October, Chris Chataway smashed the 5000m mark. It is hardly surprising then that the world record broken in between those is not always best remembered when thoughts of that summer are recalled. But there was huge significance when Green and Chataway both shared the Three Miles time, thus eclipsing Sweden’s Gunder Hägg’s best of 13:35.4 which had looked unbreakable, having stood for 12 years. On July 10, Green just beat Chataway for the AAA title at the White City Stadium, with both men being given 13:32.2. It was some improvement for Green whose previous best was 13:46.0 when he was second in the same event a year earlier.

Beaten To Gold

At the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, it was an English clean sweep in the Three Miles with Green second in 13:37.2 behind Chataway who took gold in the Three Miles in 13:35.2 with Frank Sando third in 13:37.4. But then Green, who won the Midland Six Miles each year between 1949 and 1954, failed to finish the 5000m at the European Championships that summer in Berne and he retired from the sport in the same year to emigrate to Australia.