Bevil Rudd

Bevil Gordon D'Urban Rudd

Personal information
Born	5 October 1894 Kimberley, Northern Cape
Died	2 February 1948 (aged 53) South Africa
Updated on 3 February 2016.

Olympic medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  South Africa
	1920 Antwerp	400 metres
	1920 Antwerp	4x400 m relay
	1920 Antwerp	800 metres

Bevil Gordon D'Urban Rudd (5 October 1894 – 2 February 1948) was a South African athlete, the 1920 Olympic Champion in the 400 m.

Rudd was born in Kimberley. He was the son of Henry Percy Rudd and Mable Mina Blyth; paternal grandson of Charles Rudd, who co-founded the De Beers diamond mining company, and Frances Chiappini; and maternal grandson of Captain Matthew Smith Blyth CMG, chief magistrate of the Transkei, and Elizabeth Cornelia Philpott.

During his schooling at St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown (Upper House)^[1] he excelled both as a student and as an athlete, and he was granted a scholarship for Oxford University. Rudd served in the First World War, and was awarded a Military Cross for bravery.^[2]

As for his athletic career, 1920 was his most successful year.^[3] At the 1920 Olympics, held in Antwerp, Rudd won three medals, one of each colour. In the 400 m, he won the gold medal, in a clear victory over Britain's Guy Butler. He added a silver medal in the 4 x 400 m relay with the South African team, and finished third in the 800 m. In addition to his Olympic successes, Rudd became the British champion over 440 yd (402 m) and 880 yd (805 m), and was named best athlete of the year in Great Britain. In 1921, he broke the 440 yd (402 m) World Record.

Rudd completed his studies in England, and returned to South Africa, working as a sports journalist.

He married Ursula Mary Knight, daughter of Clifford Hume Knight the Italian Consul to Cape Town, in 1926; they had at least two sons: Bevil John Blyth Rudd and Clifford Robin David Rudd, the South African Cricketer.

In 1930, he became an editor for the Daily Telegraph, a position he held until after the Second World War. Shortly after his return to South Africa, he died there at age 53.^[4]

References

1. Poland, Marguerite (2008). The Boy in You: A Biography of St. Andrew's College, 1855-2005. Fernwood Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-874950-86-8.
2. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30801. p. 8471. 16 July 1918.
3. "The Olympic Games". Edinburgh Evening News (18507). 30 July 1932. p. 6 colA. Retrieved 2016-02-03 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
4. "Bevil Gordon D'Urban Rudd". sprintic.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.