William Holland (athlete)

William Holland ( William Joseph Holland, born March 3, 1874 in Boston, † November 20, 1930 in Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts) was an American sprinter who won Olympic silver in 1900.

Holland studied at Georgetown University Medical. He belonged at that time to the best sprinters in the U.S.. Although his focus was on the longest sprint track, the 440 yards, but he was not a specialist here. His talent lay in the resistance on all running routes 100-440 yards. So it was not surprising when Holland was able to achieve before 1900 in any championship in which he participated, a title. His best finish was a second place over 440 yards in the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU), which corresponded to the national championships of the United States, behind his eternal rival Maxie Long.

Holland was still with the team of the U.S. athletes who traveled to the Olympic Games in 1900 to Paris. To finance he had to bear some of the costs themselves and therefore worked alongside his studies as a night watchman.

His first start was in Holland a lead about 400 m, in which he qualified second behind Dixon Boardman for the final. Rounding out the final competition, which was held on a Sunday, did not occur Boardman and two other strong American runners, Harry Lee and William Moloney, however, since their faith forbade them any sport on a Sunday. Thus, Holland had only one serious opponent, Maxie Long, who was given but defeat. His participation in the 60 - meter race on the same day was not crowned with success, he has already resigned in the run- off.

A week later, Holland was launched more than 200 m. His preliminary heat, he finished as the winner and the fastest time of all heats. His time was the first Olympic record on this run course, do not stand at the 1896 Athens on the program. In the final, in which Walter Tewksbury 's record improved equal, Holland was defeated by half a foot length of Stan Rowley in the battle for third place.

The rankings at the Olympic Games for William Holland:

• II Summer Olympic Games in 1900, Paris 400 m - silver with 49.6 s ( gold at Maxie Long with 49.4 s; bronze at Ernst Schultz from Denmark with unknown time )
• 200 m - fourth with 22.9 s ( gold at Walter Tewksbury from the USA with 22.2 s )
• 60 m - excreted in lead ( gold Alvin Kraenzlein from the USA with 7.0 s )

After the Games, William Holland remained for some years connected running. His opponent, however, had long retired from competition in 1901 by what Holland made ​​their way to hoped-for championship honors free. At the championships of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America ( IC4A ), which corresponded to the student championships in the United States, he won in 1901 and 1902 over 440 yards each title.

About the future life of William Holland, there are no useful biographical data.