Georg Lind

Georg Leepin was born in Courland (Kurzemes in Latvian), now a part of Latvia but then a province in the extreme west of the Russian Empire. Leepin arrived in England in the early 1890’s and, by now using the name George Lind, took up work as a cabinet maker in the small Lancashire town of Heywood. Lind joined the Salford Harriers in 1893 and began an association with the club that was highlighted by his appearance in the Salford team that placed third at the National Cross Country Championships in 1895.

It appears that Lind retired from the track around the turn of the century and no record of him has been found until, by then having moved to London, he reappears in 1907 as a member of the London based Polytechnic Harriers club. No Russian Olympic Committee existed in 1908 so it was as a private entry that Lind became the athlete to represent Russia at Olympic level when he finished a creditable 19th in the Marathon at the London Olympics. Lind competed in Sweden after the Olympics and later in 1908 he returned to the White City Olympic Stadium to take part in 24 hour walking race. An injury ruined the 1909 season for him and his athletic career appears to have ended at this point.

Having gained British citizenship in 1912 he worked as a timber inspector for the Ministry of Munitions during World War One and visited the USA in this capacity. He died in 1957.

Personal Best: Mar – unknown.