Arnold Jackson ( British Army officer ) Brigadier - General Arnold Nugent Strode Strode - Jackson ( 5 April 1891 – 13 November 1972 ) was a British athlete , British Army officer , and a barrister . He was the winner of the 1500m at the 1912 Summer Olympics , in what was hailed at the time as " the greatest race ever run " . He was a British Army Brigadier - General and amongst the most highly decorated British World War I officers . Early life . He was born Arnold Nugent Strode Jackson at Addlestone , Surrey , changing his surname to Strode - Jackson on 31 March 1919 ( as noted in London Gazette of 1 April 1919 ) . He was the son of Morton Strode Jackson ISO and Edith Rosine Martin , and grandson of Lt - Gen George Jackson . His uncle was Clement Jackson , athlete , academic , bursar of Hertford College , Oxford , and co - founder of the Amateur Athletic Association . His sister was the novelist Myrtle Beatrice Strode Strode - Jackson . He was educated at Malvern College , where he was head of his house and head of the athletics team , and there acquired the nickname , " Jackers " . Jackson entered Brasenose College , Oxford in 1910 , where he took a degree in law . Athletic career . Jackson rowed and played football and hockey for Brasenose College , being captain of the hockey team . He won the mile race for Oxford against Cambridge three times and was President of the Oxford University Athletic Club . In 1912 , while still an undergraduate , Jackson cut short his fishing holiday in Norway , and travelled by train to compete in that year ’ s Olympic Games in Sweden . He had to compete as a private entry , not having been chosen by the Great Britain team , along with his friend from Cambridge , Philip Baker , another private entry . This was the last Olympics at which such private entries were allowed . Even when compared to the amateurish race preparation of the era , Jackson ' s training regime of massage , golf and walking seemed very relaxed . At Stockholm , American hopes were high to win a gold in 1500 m , as the USA dominated mile racing at that time , and seven of the runners in the final were from the USA . The race started at a modest 65 second pace , until Norman Taber from USA took the lead and increased the pace . At the bell for the final lap , Abel Kiviat , a world record holder in 1500 m from USA , was first , followed by Taber and John Paul Jones , the mile world record holder from the USA . On the final turn , Mel Sheppard and Jackson also joined the crowd on his heels , with Sweden ' s Ernst Wide closing fast . The three Americans ran abreast in an attempt to stop anyone from overtaking , so Jackson had to run wide . With 50 yards left , Jackson came even with Kiviat and Taber , as Jones and Wide started to fade . Jackson summoned one last burst and captured the gold in 3 : 56 . 8 , an Olympic record . Kiviat and Taber both clocked 3 : 56 . 9 , and the photo had to be reviewed before officials handed the silver to Kiviat . Baker finished sixth . At the time , it was widely acclaimed as being " the greatest race ever run " . Aged 21 , Jackson remains the youngest ever Olympic 1500m gold medalist . Military career . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , Jackson was commissioned in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and , in September 1914 , was attached to the 13th ( Service ) Battalion , The Rifle Brigade , as a 2nd Lieutenant . He went over to France with the battalion and was with them until promoted Lieutenant - Colonel in May 1918 , when he took command of the 13th Battalion , The King ' s Royal Rifle Corps . In December 1914 , he was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant . On 1 July 1916 , he was promoted to Captain . He was made an Acting Major by the time of his first DSO on 4 June 1917 , and in August 1917 , Acting Lieutenant - Colonel . He was made a full Lieutenant - Colonel in May 1918 , and Acting Brigadier in October 1918 . Jackson served in the King ' s Royal Rifle Corps , becoming a Brigadier - General in the British Army and being awarded the Distinguished Service Order with three bars . The war put an end to his sporting career , for he was wounded three times and left permanently lame . Medals and honours . He was awarded his DSO and Three Bars , with citations from the London Gazette , as follows : As well as having a Mention in Dispatches for each of his DSO awards , he had six additional Mentions in Dispatches , all published in the London Gazette : Later life . He was a member of the British delegation at the Paris Peace Conference , 1919 , and was awarded the CBE for his work there . He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple . He went on to be a member of the British Olympic Council in 1920 , and a major force in the founding of the Achilles Club . He emigrated to the United States in 1921 , where he worked in industry and as a Justice of the Peace in Connecticut . He directed the first Kentucky Derby Festival in 1935 . During World War II , he was a Colonel on the staff of the Governor of Kentucky , and Administration Officer of the Inspection Board of U . K . and Canada in New York and Ottawa , in charge of Inspectors and anti - sabotage precautions . He also met convoys arriving in New York and give what help he could to returning servicemen . He became a US citizen in 1945 . In 1963 , on the death of his wife Dora , he returned to Oxford where he lived until his own death on 13 November 1972 . Personal life . In 1918 , he married Dora Mooney , daughter of the late William Allen Mooney of Silver Hills , New Albany , Indiana , USA . Legacy . A play about his life , “ Strode - Jackson ” was written by Mike Hodd and Jack Thorington , and premiered at the King ' s Head Theatre , London , in 1979 . A full length oil painting of Jackson is prominently displayed at Vincent ' s Club in Oxford , having been rescued and repaired after lying neglected for many years in a Brasenose College cellar . A children ' s play , loosely based on Jackson ' s success in Stockholm , was premieerd at Caldicott School in the late 1970s / early 1980s .