Shropshire accountant to become oldest competitor in Wenlock Olympian Games
A Shropshire accountant is set to commemorate his late uncle’s 1929 Wenlock Olympian Games success by becoming one of the oldest track runners to compete in next month’s Games.
Neil Phillips has bravely decided to come out of retirement from sprinting to run both the 100m and 200m sprint in the games next month, as a tribute to his late uncle Bill Phillips’ achievements as a Birchfield Harriers champion.
Mr Phillips, director of Phillips Chartered Accountants on Stafford Park, said he was inspired to take part after seeing his late uncle Bill honoured in the Much Wenlock Museum which reopened earlier this year after a £500,000 refurbishment.
Bill Phillips is shown with his prizes which he won at the 1929 games at the age of 18. He later went on to become the Mayor of Much Wenlock in 1960.
The 51-year-old accountant, from Telford, said he was proud to have continued his uncle’s association with Birchfield Harriers by being one of the club’s current trustees.
During his teenage years, Mr Phillips was the Telford Schools champion for the 100m and the Shropshire Schools long jump champion.
He also boasts a place in the 1983 edition of the Guinness Book of Records after walking the length of Ireland in world record time when he was 20 years old.
“The family interest in athletics was passed on to me from my late uncle Bill and I enjoyed some success as a teenager.
“But as I got older I stopped sprinting and walking and turned my interest to taking part in the London Marathon which I have completed five times for fun and to raise thousands of pounds for charity,” Mr Phillips said.
“For this year's Wenlock Olympian Games, as it is London 2012 Olympics year, I have decided to do something quite mad, and I am coming out of retirement as a sprinter and I will be running both the 100m and 200m at the Games in July.
“At 51 years old I am very likely to be the oldest competitor and needless to say, I do not have high expectations of finishing amongst the medals!
“I am doing it for the sheer thrill and also to honour the achievement of my Uncle Bill all those years ago.”
The late Bill Phillips is included in the museum area dedicated to the story of the town and surrounding area and the links between Dr William Penny Brookes and the Modern Olympic Games.
The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded in Much Wenlock in 1850 by Dr Penny Brookes, who started the town's Olympian Games.
Baron Pierre de Coubertin visited him in 1890, witnessed the games and subsequently founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894.
