Charlie Booth

Charlie Booth (1 October 1903 – 20 May 2008)[1] was an Australian athlete.

Charlie Booth
Born(1903-10-01)October 1, 1903
DiedMay 20, 2008(2008-05-20) (aged 104)
Known forathlete

Career

In the 1930s, he was a champion runner who participated in several Stawell Gifts, until a victory in 1939. He was also a fitter and turner apprentice. Booth is widely credited for inventing starting blocks for sprinting races, along with his father.[1]

When he first used his invention in a race, made from a T-bar and a block of wood cut in half, he was disqualified for life. The decision was overturned a few weeks later.[2]

At age 100, Booth gave a rare interview about his long and successful life.[3]

In 2006, the then 102-year-old wanted to run in a special Stawell Gift over-40s race, with the prize being a pig, but in the end he decided against it.[1]

Death

In 2007, he celebrated his 104th birthday with a small private party.[4] Nearly eight months later in May 2008, Booth died at the age of 104.

gollark: No.
gollark: It's a server called SwitchCraft. There's basically just ComputerCraft and accessory mods.
gollark: This is the test track.
gollark: It can automatically dispense carts and do routing using a lot of computer-switched T-junctions.
gollark: I have made a mostly fully automated multi-endpoint rail transport system in Minecraft.

References
  1. Vale Charlie Booth 1903 - 2008 Archived 20 November 2008 at Archive.today
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. A marathon man with plenty of punch left yet - FeaturesGeneral - www.theage.com.au
  4. "Booth's 104th birthday". goldcoast.com.au. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 10 December 2007.


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