Amateur Athletic Association 220 Yards Championship Challenge Cup Presented by Geo. V.A. Schofield
By Dr Jane Ainsworth
History of the Event
The 220 yards, now 200 metres, was not introduced into the Amateur Athletic Association championship programme until 1902, almost half a century after the 100 and 440 yards, although it had appeared at the Olympics of 1900. The British silver medallists of the Paris 1900 and Amsterdam 1928 Olympics, Norman Pritchard and Walter Rangeley respectively, do not appear on the trophy, although several other medallists from this period do. Willie Applegarth, who was AAA champion three years in a row before World War I, with a world record that would stand for 14 years in 1914, won a bronze medal at the Olympics of 1912, as well as adding gold in the sprint relay. After the War, Harry Edward took three AAA titles and an Olympic bronze. Four years later in Paris, his successor as AAA champion, Eric Liddell, won a bronze medal in the 200m and gold in the 400m.
Four athletes from overseas complete the roll of honour for the period before World War II. American Nathaniel Cartmell added the AAA title in 1909 to his silver and bronze medals from the 1904 and 1908 Olympics. In the 1908 final Cartmell was beaten to the gold by Canadian Robert Kerr who had already won this trophy in Olympic year. Martinus Osendarp from the Netherlands won the AAA championship the year before his bronze medal at the 1936 Games in Berlin. The event had to wait until 1976 for its next overseas Olympic medallist, when Don Quarrie became champion in Montreal, following this with a bronze medal in 1980.
British sprinting after World War II was dominated by McDonald Bailey, who took an unmatched seven sprint doubles at the AAA championships between 1946 and 1953. Born in Trinidad, “Mac” chose to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland and won a bronze medal in the 100m in 1952. Later he returned to Trinidad and coached their team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Another Olympic bronze medallist in the 100m, Peter Radford, broke the 200m world record in 1960. The 1960s would see the dominance of David Jones, who won the AAA title four times. Both Radford and Jones were part of Britain’s bronze-medal winning relay team in 1960.
As with the 1900 and 1928 silver medallists, more recent Olympic silver medallists Allan Wells and Darren Campbell do not appear on this trophy, although the latter was British 200m champion in 2000, the year of his Sydney success. Campbell’s coach, Linford Christie, won the AAA sprint double in 1988, the year of his first Olympic 100m medal. On five occasions at this period the championship was won by John Regis, who in 1987 was out-dipped for bronze at the World Championships and subsequently took silver in 1993. Danny Talbot is the most recent World Championship medallist to feature on the roll of honour, the 2014 200m champion ran the second bend in the sprint relay in London.
The Donor
George Schofield (1856-1933), the donor of the trophy, was a member of the Olympic Track Committee for the 1908 London Games, at which the athletics programme was organised by AAA. He was therefore jointly responsible for the marathon distance being fixed at 26 miles, 385 yards, to accommodate a start on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle and a finish under the Royal Box at the White City Stadium. The previous distance had been over 24 miles.
The 1908 Games, originally scheduled to be held in Rome, provided athletics in Britain with the White City stadium which would host AAA championships until 1970. Much of the credit for organising the Games was given by contemporaries to Lord Desborough, the donor of the women’s long jump trophy and president of the AAA.
History of the Trophy
AAA champions in the 220 yards (1902-1969), then 200 metres (1970-1995) received this trophy for the event first contested in championships from 1902. Since 2010 the trophy has been presented to the winner of the England Senior Championships 200m
Previous Winners
| 1930 S.E. Engelhart | 1967 W.M. Campbell | |
| 1931 R. Murdoch | 1968 P. Nash | |
| 1932 F.P. Reid | As from 1969 event changed to 200 metres | |
| 1933 C. Berger | 1969 D.G. Dear | |
| 1934 R. Murdoch | 1970 M.E. Reynolds | |
| 1902 R.W. Wadsley | 1935 M.B. Osendarp | 1971 A. Pascoe |
| 1903 G.F. Brewill | 1936 A.W. Sweeney | 1972 A. Pascoe |
| 1904 C.H. Jupp | 1937 A.W. Sweeney | 1973 C. Monk |
| 1905 H.A. Hyman | 1938 W. van Beveren | 1974 M. Lutz |
| 1906 C.H. Jupp | 1939 C.B. Holmes | 1975 S. Riddick |
| 1907 J.P. George | 1946. E. McD. Bailey | 1976 D. Quarrie |
| 1908 R. Kerr | 1947 E. McDonald Bailey | 1977 C. Edwards |
| 1909 N.J. Cartmell | 1948 A. McCorquodale | 1978 D. Quarrie |
| 1910 F.L. Ramsdell | 1949 E. McDonald Bailey | 1979 C. Edwards |
| 1911 F.L. Ramsdell | 1950 E. McDonald Bailey | 1980 M. Lattany |
| 1912 W.R. Applegarth | 1951 E. McDonald Bailey | 1981 S. Floyd |
| 1913 W.R. Applegarth | 1952 E. McDonald Bailey | 1982 E. Tulloch |
| 1914 W.R. Applegarth | 1953 E. McDonald Bailey | 1983 M. Lattany |
| 1915 – No Championship | 1954 B. Shenton | 1984 T. Bennett |
| 1918 (European War) | 1955 G.S. Ellis | 1985 A. Mafe |
| 1919 W.A. Hill | 1956 B. Shenton | 1986 J. Regis |
| 1920 H.F.V. Edward | 1957 D.H. Segal | 1987. J. Regis |
| 1921 H.F.V. Edward | 1958 D.H. Segal | 1988. L. Christie |
| 1922 H.F.V. Edward | 1959 D.H. Jones | 1989. Marcus Adam |
| 1923 E.H. Liddell | 1960 D.H. Jones | 1990. John Regis |
| 1924 H.P. Kinsman | 1961 D.H. Jones | 1991. John Drummond |
| 1925 L. Murchison | 1962 S. Antao | 1992. John Regis |
| 1926 G.M. Butler | 1963 D.H. Jones | 1993. Jeff Williams |
| 1927 H. Houben | 1964 W.M. Campbell | 1994. S. Wariso |
| 1928 F.W. Wichmann | 1965 P.J.A. Morrison | 1995. John Regis |
| 1929 J.A.T. Hanlon | 1966 P. Nash |
| 2010 C. Clarke | 2013 J. Ellington | 2016 A. Infantino |
| 2011 L. Fagan | 2014 D. Talbot | 2017 A. Infantino |
| 2012 E. Amaning | 2015 A. Infantino | 2018 E. Amaning |
| 2019 E. Amaning |