Victor Aitken

Victor Aitken

Victor Aitken, 1909.
Personal information
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1887-05-23)23 May 1887 Coburg, Victoria, Australia
Died	31 October 1962(1962-10-31) (aged 75) Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
Sport
Sport	Long-distance running
Event	Marathon

Victor Aitken (23 May 1887 – 31 October 1962) was an Australian long-distance runner. He competed in the men's marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Career

In 1905, he placed second in the one-mile walking championship of Victoria and he also came second in the 1907 5-mile cross country championship of Victoria held at Ballarat. He then came first in the 7-mile open handicap at Heidelberg and the 10-mile cross country championship of Victoria held at the Caulfield Racecourse and beyond, breaking the race record by completing it in 59 minutes and 5 seconds.

In 1908, Aitken was selected as a Marathon representative for the Olympic Games in London and he ran twenty-two and a half miles before retiring due to "sleepiness". A week after arriving home from the Olympics he came sixth in the Victorian 10-mile cross country championship in 61 minutes and 27 seconds, a minute behind the race winner, Charles Suffren of the Ballarat Harriers club. In 1909 he achieved record times in his three and five-mile club races and he broke his own record in the 10-mile cross country championship of Victoria by 19 seconds. Three weeks later on 9 October 1909 Aitken competed in the Victorian Marathon Championship, where he finished fourth overall, and second Victorian to finish in a time of 3 hours, 13 minutes and 52 seconds, which was 8 minutes and 10 seconds behind the Victorian gold medallist, A. "Mack" Connor of Geelong Guild.

External links

• Victor Aitken at World Athletics
• Victor Aitken at the Australian Olympic Committee
• Victor Aitken at Olympedia