Olympian and former Hong Kong 400m record-holder William Hill dies at 75
- William Hill was also a torch bearer when the Tokyo Olympic flame arrived in Hong Kong
- Hill was named Athlete of the Year for two consecutive years in 1964 and 1965
William Hill 1945-2020 Hong Kong athletics is mourning the death of runner William Hill, one of the city’s representatives at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and a former Hong Kong record-holder.
Hill, a Diocesan Boys’ School graduate, held the record in the 400 metres with a time of 48.8 seconds. His record of 10.8 seconds in the 100 metres also stood tall since the 1960s.
He was also one of the torch-bearers when the Tokyo Olympic flame arrived in Hong Kong prior to the Games.
He won the Amateur Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Year award in consecutive years in 1964 and 1965 and was a member of the track and field squad for the 1964 Games, along with middle-distance runner Mike Field, long jumper Chu Ming and race walker So Kam-tong. Hong Kong sent a 39-member squad to the Tokyo Games that year, including the first and so far only Olympic team in the men’s hockey.
In a 1964 Post article, sports writer Carl Myatt described the talented runner as “a gangling six-footer with a shy smile and one of the most relaxed and fluid running styles one can hope to see anywhere … he has great natural talent and has achieved excellent times without proper coaching”.
Motor racing and football heavyweight Lawrence Yu Kam-kee, one of Hill’s classmates in DBS, was sad to lose his long-time friend.
“We graduated together in 1964. He is an exceptional athlete and a good companion,” Yu said.
HKAAA vice-chairman Simon Yeung Sai-mo, also a DBS graduate and a middle-distance runner representing Hong Kong at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, said Hill had inspired many young runners.
DBS Headmaster Ronnie Cheng wrote: “William was a hero to us all. He was a legendary figure in the record and history books. We were mesmerised by the heroics in local and international competitions”.
He could have experienced his second Tokyo Olympics this summer had it not been for the postponement of the Games to 2021.
At 75, Hill succumbed to cancer at Grantham Hospital on Monday.
