Kenneth Joseph Matthews, MBE (21 June 1934 – 2 June 2019)[1] was a British race walker, who won the Olympic (1964) and European (1962) titles in the 20 km walk.
 Matthews at the 1964 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 21 June 1934 Birmingham, United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 June 2019 (aged 84) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Race walking | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Royal Sutton Coldfield Walking Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 42:35.6 (10 km, 1960) 1.28:15 (20 km, 1960) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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From 1957 Matthews worked as an electrician at a local power plant at Hams Hall near Sutton Coldfield and had to take a paid leave for competitions. In 1959, 1961, 1963 and 1964 he won the British titles in all three walking events. He took part in the 1960 Olympics, but failed to finish the 20 km race. He won the same event at the 1964 Games in a new Olympic record of 1.29:34. He was the only one of the four gold medallists from Great Britain who was not appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) soon afterwards in recognition of his achievement. Following a public outcry, he belatedly received the honours, for services to race walking, in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.[2][3][4]
Matthews also won the European title in 1962[3] and twice the Lugano Trophy (1961 and 1963).[2]
In 2007, he was the guest of honour at Hawarden High School for the Year 11 Record Of Achievement.[citation needed] In 2011, he was inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]
He died on 2 June 2019, aged 84. An inquest concluded in early January 2020 that his death was the result of an unknown allergic reaction.[6]
References
edit- ^ Olympic champion race walker Ken Matthews dies
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ken Matthews". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ a b Sam Knight (9 June 2012) Kenneth Matthews, Great Britain. FT Magazine.
- ^ United Kingdom: "No. 47234". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1977. p. 7097.
- ^ "2011 Hall of Fame Inductees". England Athletics. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Olympian Ken Matthews died after 'unknown' allergic reaction". BBC News. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
External links
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