Hill started out as a
long-distance runner, winning the British
AAA championships over 4 miles at the
1910 AAA Championships. During
World War I he served with the
Royal Flying Corps in
France, and after the war changed to middle-distance running. Coached by
Sam Mussabini (coach of 100 m Olympic Champions
Reggie Walker and
Harold Abrahams), he won the
880 yd national title and
1 mile national title at the
1919 AAA Championships and then equalled the British record of 4:16.8 for 1 mile. He nearly was not selected for the Olympics the following year, the selectors considering the 31-year-old Hill too old. Finally, he was allowed to take part at the Olympics, which were held in
Antwerp, Belgium. He made the final in the 800m, which was a closely contested race. In the end, the 31-year-old Hill beat American
Earl Eby for the gold, setting a British record of 1:53.4 on a slow track. this was 1.2 seconds outside the world record and the second fastest amateur time ever. Hill ended his running career in 1921 and became a coach himself, his most famous protégé being
Sydney Wooderson. He emigrated to
Canada shortly after
World War II, and died there in 1969. In 2010, he was inducted into the
England Athletics Hall of Fame. == References ==