Stamford Bridge, London, 4–5 July 1930
That perennial duel between two of Europe’s finest long hurdlers—Olympic champion David Burghley (the Lord himself) and Italy’s Luigi Facelli—reignited at the national championships. This time, the Lord avenged last year’s indignity, reclaiming his throne. The stopwatches were in perfect agreement, handing both men a season-best 53.8, while the upstart Douglas Neame thundered into sixth in the world rankings with a 54.0.
Burghley further cemented his legacy by snatching the 120-yard hurdles, becoming the first soul in the history of the championships to sweep the hurdles double in a single year.
The half-mile was similarly thick with continental talent. Thomas Hampson, Britain’s rising star and future Olympic deity, steamed to victory in 1:53.2—the third-fastest time of the season. Séra Martin, the world record holder, and Britain’s Cyril Ellis set a suicidal pace early on, only to find the tank empty on the second lap, allowing Hampson to sail past with aristocratic ease.
Finland’s new luminary, Lauri Virtanen, delivered a masterclass in the four-mile, adding Janusz Kusociński’s scalp to his belt in the process. Virtanen’s pace was positively lethal throughout, and despite his grim exertions, he produced a blistering kick that left 24,000 spectators gasping in the stands. Thus, Virtanen joined the hallowed ranks of Hannes Kolehmainen and Paavo Nurmi as Finnish victors of this gruelling distance.
Athletics in England remained, of course, a pursuit for gentlemen. When Virtanen attempted to take the start in a Finnish-style sleeveless vest, the officials—appalled by such fleshy immodesty—demanded he don a proper shirt with sleeves. Virtanen complied, shielded from the public gaze by a human wall of beefy chaps who huddled around him while he changed.
In the sweltering July heat, the 26-mile plod also took place. Duncan McLeod Wright, a veteran of three Olympic marathons, reeled in Finland’s Martti Marttelin around the 25-mile mark. Marttelin’s constitution had been sadly eroded by a bout of seasickness on the North Sea crossing, allowing the Scot to pull away and finish five seconds clear of the ailing Finn.
The Swedes, meanwhile, staged a successful raid on the trophy cabinet, securing three titles. Olle Hallberg claimed the long jump crown, while Ossian Skiöld heaved the hammer furthest. To round it off, Henry Lindblad shared the spoils in the pole vault.
The Dutch were frequent guests at the British Open in the 1930s. Willem Peters, who had hopped, stepped, and jumped to the top of the world rankings just weeks prior, he claimed the triple jump crown with a 15.10 (49-6½) effort, a mark that sat a proud fourth on the global season's list.