Charlie Booth

Charles " Charlie" Booth ( born October 1, 1903 in Melbourne, Australia, † 20 May, 2008 Queensland, Australia) was an Australian athlete and inventor of the starting block.

Life

Booth began at the age of 14 years trying to run the race. At this time the athletes were divided into Australia the few bumpy race tracks with racing dogs. Booth had the idea for the starting blocks, when the dog owner complained about the depressions left by the runners at the start ( cf. 100 -meter run ), which were used at that time to push away. In 1921 he built the first, still primitive starting blocks wooden blocks with a metal base and developed it further and further.

At their first use in an official race, he was disqualified for taking advantage of the racing line. After protests the decision a few weeks later was withdrawn and his invention prevailed worldwide.

Booth died at the age of 104 years in a hospital in Queensland.