Nationality British Name Eric Robertson Event(s) Marathon | Sport Long-distance running Died 1975 (aged 82–83) | |
Born 12 September 1892 ( 1892-09-12 ) St. John's, Newfoundland, Newfoundland Colony, British North America | ||
Eric Mackenzie Robertson (12 September 1892 – 1975) was a Newfoundland marathoner, who competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium for Great Britain. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland.
When the Great War broke out, Robertson volunteered immediately and joined the first contingent of the Newfoundland Regiment, shipping out on the SS Florizel on October 10, 1914. He served in Gallipoli, before being transferred with his regiment to the Western Front. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel Robertson was among the hundreds of the regiment wounded, suffering a wound to his right leg. After the war he settled in London. While working in a clothing store some of his co-workers were members of the Polytechnic Harriers, and through them he developed his love of running. In 1920, he travelled to Antwerp to cheer on his teammates from the Harriers, who were members of the British team. However, the British team was short one person and his teammates convinced their coach to let Robertson run. His inexperience showed as he finished in last place, 35 minutes behind the second to last place finisher.