Men’s 220 Yards Championship Challenge Cup

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 in Paris in 1900 and Amsterdam in 1928, Norman Pritchard and Walter Rangeley, 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, won a bronze medal at the Olympics of 1912 as well as adding gold in the sprint relay. After the war, Harry Edward also took three AAA titles and Olympic bronze. Four years later in Paris, his successor as AAA champion, Eric Liddell, won 200m bronze along with gold in the 400m. 

Amateur Athletic Association 220 Yards Championship Challenge Cup
Photo credit: David Rowan

Four athletes from overseas appear on the trophy for the period before World War II. America’s Nathaniel Cartmell added the AAA title in 1909 to his silver and bronze medals from the 1904 and 1908 Olympics. In the 1908 Olympic final Cartmell was beaten by Canadian athlete Robert Kerr, who’s name appears on this trophy in that same year. Martinus Osendarp from the Netherlands won the AAA championship the year before his bronze medal at the 1936 Games in Berlin. The AAA championship 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 at the 1952 Olympics. 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 Olympic 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 during this period the championship was won by John Regis, who in 1987 was out-dipped for bronze at the World Championships and but would go on to take silver in 1993. Danny Talbot is the most recent World Championship medallist to feature on the trophy’s roll of honour, the 2014 200m champion ran the second bend in the sprint relay in London.

The Donor
George Vaughan Arthur 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
The Amateur Athletic Association 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. Engelhart1967  W.M. Campbell
 1931  R. Murdoch1968  P. Nash
 1932  F.P. ReidAs from 1969 event changed to 200 metres
 1933  C. Berger1969  D.G. Dear
 1934  R. Murdoch1970  M.E. Reynolds
1902  R.W. Wadsley1935  M.B. Osendarp1971  A. Pascoe
1903  G.F. Brewill1936  A.W. Sweeney1972  A. Pascoe
1904  C.H. Jupp1937  A.W. Sweeney1973  C. Monk
1905  H.A. Hyman1938  W. van Beveren1974  M. Lutz
1906  C.H. Jupp1939  C.B. Holmes1975  S. Riddick
1907  J.P. George1946.  E. McD. Bailey1976  D. Quarrie
1908  R. Kerr1947  E. McDonald Bailey1977  C. Edwards
1909  N.J. Cartmell1948  A. McCorquodale1978  D. Quarrie
1910  F.L. Ramsdell1949  E. McDonald Bailey1979  C. Edwards
1911  F.L. Ramsdell1950  E. McDonald Bailey1980  M. Lattany
1912  W.R. Applegarth1951  E. McDonald Bailey1981  S. Floyd
1913  W.R. Applegarth1952  E. McDonald Bailey1982  E. Tulloch
1914  W.R. Applegarth1953  E. McDonald Bailey1983  M. Lattany
1915 – No Championship1954  B. Shenton1984  T. Bennett
1918 (European War)1955  G.S. Ellis1985  A. Mafe
1919  W.A. Hill1956  B. Shenton1986  J. Regis
1920  H.F.V. Edward1957  D.H. Segal1987.  J. Regis
1921  H.F.V. Edward1958  D.H. Segal1988.  L. Christie
1922  H.F.V. Edward1959  D.H. Jones1989.  Marcus Adam
1923  E.H. Liddell1960  D.H. Jones1990.  John Regis
1924  H.P. Kinsman1961  D.H. Jones1991.  John Drummond
1925  L. Murchison1962  S. Antao1992.  John Regis
1926  G.M. Butler1963  D.H. Jones1993.  Jeff Williams
1927  H. Houben1964  W.M. Campbell1994.  S. Wariso
1928  F.W. Wichmann1965  P.J.A. Morrison1995.  John Regis
1929  J.A.T. Hanlon1966  P. Nash 
2010  C. Clarke2013  J. Ellington2016  A. Infantino
2011  L. Fagan2014  D. Talbot2017  A. Infantino
2012  E. Amaning2015  A. Infantino2018  E. Amaning
  2019  E. Amaning