John William Joslin RINKEL

John Rinkel ran in the Oxford vs. Cambridge sports four times (1925-28), winning the 100y twice (1926, 1928), and the 440y three times (1926-28). He also won the 440y for Oxbridge against Princeton/Cornell in 1926 and Harvard/yale in 1927. At the AAA Championships Rinkel was a finalist in both sprints in 1925, placing second in the 220y, and he won the 440y in 1926. He also placed second in the AAA 440y (1928), third in the 220y (1929), and was a member of the Achilles team that won the AAA medley relay in 1926 and the 4×440y relay in 1928-29. Undoubtedly his finest performance was to reach the final of the 400 m at the 1928 Olympics when he set a personal best in fourth place, only three metres behind the winner, Ray Barbuti. In the traditional British Empire vs. USA match following the Amsterdam Games, Rinkel ran close to 47 seconds for his stage of the 4×440y relay. He then went to Paris for the World Student Games where he won the 200 title. Interestingly, he was not considered for the 1925 match against France as he )was not of British nationality) (Sporting Life, 20 July 1925); he was originally Dutch before becoming a British citizen in April 1927.

Personal Bests: 200St – 21.5e (1928); 220y – 21.6 (1928); 400 – 48.4 (1928).