Duncan White

Who was Duncan White?

Duncan White, MBE was the first Ceylonese athlete to win a medal for his country in an Olympic event. He won a silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. He was also the only South Asian to have won an Olympic medal in track and field for more than fifty years.

White was born on 1 March 1918 in Lathpandura near Kalutara, in British Ceylon, the second of four children of John Bernard White and Cecilia Hawk White, descended from principally British lineage. He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy where he was awarded 'Trinity Lion' for athletics; this was subsequently withdrawn from him due to minor disciplinary reasons. White won his Olympic medal the same year Ceylon gained independence from Britain. He had trained for only about 3 months before the games while the gold medalist, Roy Cochran of the USA, had trained for about 4 years. White's time for the event, 51.8 seconds, was only 0.7 seconds behind Cochran, which along with Cochran's time bettered the existing Olympic record.

After the Olympic victory, White was welcomed at a ceremony at Trinity, and was honoured by returning his 'Lion'. Making a speech at the special assembly, White stated that "although my victory at the Olympics is prestigious, the 'Lion' makes me feel more honoured than that", and received the 'Lion' with open arms.