Basil Bennett was ranked second nationally in 1917 and while attending the University of Illinois he was the leading collegiate hammer thrower that year He was deprived of the 1917 IC4A title because the meet was cancelled, and he was out of competition for the next two years. However, he came back in 1920 and, as a member of the Chicago AA, placed fourth at the Final Trials. At the Olympics, he took third place with the best throw of his career and beat his teammates, Matt McGrath and James McEachern, both of whom had finished ahead of him at the U.S. Trials.
Personal Best: HT – 48.27 (1923).
United States