Basil Heatley

Basil Heatley

Personal information
Born	(1933-12-25)25 December 1933 Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England
Died	3 August 2019(2019-08-03) (aged 85)
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Club	Coventry Godiva Harriers
Medal record Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo Marathon

Benjamin Basil Heatley (25 December 1933 – 3 August 2019)^[1] was a British competitive long-distance runner, who was an Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world marathon record-holder. Although he favoured cross country running, he was also a skilled marathon runner and, despite running shoe technology being in its infancy, he was able to adapt easily to the change of conditions underfoot.

Heatley was a three-time winner of the English National Cross Country title (1960, 1961, 1963). He competed in the International Cross Country Championships seven times between 1957 and 1964, winning the world title in 1961. In the early 1960s, he set a British record and a world record for the 10-mile run, then on 13 June 1964 he broke the record for the world's fastest marathon. Four months later, he won a silver medal for Great Britain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics when he finished second in the Olympic marathon (defending champion Abebe Bikila broke Heatley's world record on winning his second gold medal). The 1964 Olympics marked the end of Heatley's international career.