Arthur Postle

Postle was born in Springside near Pittsworth, in the Darling Downs of the Australian state of Queensland. Part of a large family, Postle was the second-oldest of nine children for Arthur Benjamin Postle Snr. and Frances Postle, née Honor. Postle's father was born in Melbourne, while his mother was English. His father disapproved of Postle's running aspirations; the family farm struggled constantly against drought. Postle was coached instead by his uncle who owned a farm next door on which he had cut a running track. After years work on his father's farm, Postle left to pursue his athletic career in 1899, while his brothers all remained to continue farming. ==Professional career==

Postle's early, unsuccessful, attempts in the Stawell Gift in 1901 and 1903 garnered for him some local notoriety, His later defeat of South African Reggie Walker brought him a diamond-encrusted necklace. In 1908, at Durban Postle ran fifty yards in 5.20 seconds, another record, and later the same year he set yet another world record, running sixty yards in 6.1 seconds. He also opted to use a number of emblems to represent his nationality, in an era before standardised colours and emblems were used by Australian sportsmen. In addition to his crimson vest he wore green shorts with gold trim, and his shirt had an emu and a kangaroo, one on each breast. As Postle's notoriety grew, a rivalry began between Jack Donaldson – a prolific Australian sprinter nicknamed 'Blue Streak' – and himself. Postle and American runner Charles Holway challenged Donaldson to a race at Johannesburg in February 1910 to decide who would be crowned World Champion over a one-hundred yard sprint. Though Postle began quickest, he was overtaken by Donaldson at eighty yards and the latter was victorious by 2.4 yards. In October 1912, Postle married an Englishwoman, Edna Leadbeater, in Lancashire, England. Leadbeater was the sister-in-law of Postle's old coach, Todd. The couple would go on to have four children. ==Later life==

After retiring from running in 1913, Postle owned an auctioneering business in Memerambi, ran a running-shoe shop, His mother died in 1937, and his father twelve months later. During the Second World War he sold the farm and retired to Wynnum, though he continued to coach runners well into the 1950s. He was still a regular at local running tracks, sharing his expertise with young runners. He coached Norma Croker, later an Olympic gold medal winner. ==References==