William Knyvett

The son of William Alexander Knyvett, a former Deputy-Inspector-General and head of CID in the Bengal Police, William Knyvett also joined the Bengal Police force after finishing his education at Malvern College in England. He competed in the 120 y hurdles at the 1908 AAAs championship at Shepherd’s Bush, which was won by Germany’s Vincent Duncker, the bronze medallist at the 1906 Olympics. Less than a month later Knyvett took part in the Olympic Games when he competed for the London AC and the Bengal Police. He received a walkover in his first heat and then came second to Forrest Smithson the eventual gold-medallist. Unfortunately, only the semi-final heat winners qualified for the final and Knyvett’s estimated time of 15.6s would have won any of the other three semi-finals, and his time would have qualified him for a silver medal. Little else is known of his athletic career.

Personal Best: 110H – 15.6e (1908).