British athletics has always been renowned for producing talented 4x400 metre relay runners, and perhaps its most memorable victory came in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, when an inspired leg by Godfrey Rampling, in front of Adolf Hitler, helped to defeat both the American and the German teams.

This was Rampling’s last international race and suitably the pinnacle of the career of someone who was hailed by Harold Abrahams, winner of the 100 metres in the “Chariots of Fire” Olympics of 1924 and later athletics correspondent of The Sunday Times, as “the most gloriously heaven-sent quarter-miler I have ever seen”.

Rampling, ideally built for the event at 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall and just under 12 stone (76kg), won a relay silver medal in the 1932 Olympics, was the Empire Games individual 400-metres champion in 1934 and in Berlin ran his lap in 46.6 seconds, a performance that even now would put him in contention for a place in the British 4 x 400-metres team.

This is particularly true given that he did not race on all-weather tracks and wore unwieldy spikes. His preparation was also limited. He once re-

called: “Training was a complete farce. When I felt like it, I ran round a cricket ground or sprinted up and down in short bursts. Then I would run for about 600 yards for so-called stamina training. The Americans were astounded at our lack of training.”

Brought up in Greenwich, Rampling was coached at the Royal Military Academy as a youngster by Walter George, the celebrated miler who had run the distance as a professional in 4 min 12.75sec in 1886. After winning the Army 880-yards title in 1930, Rampling concentrated on the 440 yards/400 metres for the rest of his career. In 1931 he won his first AAA (national) title and running against France recorded 48.0 seconds, the fastest by a European that year, and in two relays against Germany, twice showed that he was superior to Adolf Metzner, later to win the 1934 European title.

In one relay, Rampling was timed in 46.6 seconds. However, a septic tooth brought on a blood disorder that winter and prevented him from making an even stronger bid for a medal at the 1932 Olympics, when Abrahams believed that he would have challenged the two top Americans, Bill Carr and Ben Eastman. He still did 48.0 seconds to equal his best 400-

metres time in just failing to make the individual final. However, with a quartet including Lord Burghley, whose character was featured in the film Chariots of Fire, he got a silver medal in the relay.

Rampling recovered fully from his blood disorder only in 1934, when he won the Empire Games 440-yards title on a soggy White City track in 48.0 sec, breaking the British record which had stood since 1908. Later that day he anchored the English 4x440-yards relay team to victory.

By this time, Rampling was fully involved with his career in the Royal Artillery and he missed much of the 1935 season because of his duties as an army officer.

However, he returned for the 1936 Olympics, finishing second in the AAA Championships, but just failed to make the individual final in Berlin. However, in the relay he was at his best, despite some haphazard preparation. As Rampling himself admitted in later life: “I remember saying one day, ‘Look here, chaps, we ought to practise some baton-changing’. But we soon got bored and packed it in.”

The Americans left out Archie Williams and James LuValle, the gold and bronze medallists from the individual event, something that they had also done in previous Olympics, believing that they needed fresh runners.

Rampling took over eight metres down on the second lap but handed over to Bill Roberts, having done 46.6 seconds to give Britain a three-metre lead over the US. He recalled: “I never felt so good as that day. I just seemed to float round the track, passing people without effort.” Britain eventually finished two seconds clear of the US in a European record of 3 min 09.0sec, and the race was a highlight of Leni Riefenstahl’s distinguished film of the Games.

Rampling retired from the Army in 1958 with the rank of lieutenant-

colonel and, in his later years, had a particular interest in golf, captaining the Stanmore club.

One daughter, Charlotte, the film actress, survives him. His wife and another daughter predeceased him.

Godfrey Rampling, Olympic athlete, was born on May 14, 1909. He died on June 20, 2009, aged 100