Roy Sandstrom

Hull-born Roy Sandstrom was educated at the local Kingston High School, where he would compete in 100-, 220- and 440-yards track events, as well as the high jump, long jump, discus and javelin. As a youngster, his track and field successes were restricted to school events. After Kingston, Sandstrom went to Hull University, and in 1951 was second in both the 100y and 220y at the Yorkshire Championships, behind the European champion Brian Shenton. Sandstrom also reached the 100 metres semi-final at the 1951 Summer International University Sports Week in Luxembourg. He failed to make much progress in the 1952 and 1953 seasons while he was studying physical education at Carnegie College, Leeds. After Carnegie, Sandstrom joined a physical fitness unit of the RAF in January 1954, and this helped develop his fitness. As a result, he won the Yorkshire and RAF 100 yard titles in 1954. He also played as wing three-quarter for the RAF rugby team.

Sandstrom won the AAA 100y title in 1955, and was second in the 220, with the same time as winner George Ellis. Sandstrom also made the first of his 13 Great Britain international appearances that year. The following year, he was selected for the Melbourne Olympics and vindicated his selection before the Games when, on 19 August 1956, he broke the British 100 metre record with a time of 10.3, breaking the old record 10.4 set by Arthur Sweeney back in 1937. Sandstrom failed to retain his AAAs title before the Olympics, finishing third.

Sandstrom’s final season was in 1958, and it ended on a high, when he was a member of the England team, with Peter Radford, David Segal and Adrian Breacker, that won the British Empire and Commonwealth Games 4 x 110 yards relay in a British record 40.72. Having left the RAF with the rank of flight lieutenant, Sandsrom went to live in Australia, where he became a senior lecturer in physical education at the University of Melbourne until his retirement in 1988.

Personal Bests: 100 – 10.3 (1956); 200 – 21.5 (1958).