Frank Sando (born 14/03/1931- died 13/10/2012)
Kent Connections include: Maidstone/ Aylesford/
Ditton/ Larkfield
Olympic Sport: Athletics (Long distance
running)
Olympic Games: 1952, 1956
Sources include:
Frank Sando was born in Maidstone in 1931.
In 1948, he became the Kent County Junior
Cross County Champion.
In 1949, he was Kent County Youth Cross
Country Champion.
In October 1949 he joined the Army on National
Service.
In 1951 he broke the Army 3 mile record.
In 1951 Frank Sando began working for
Aylesford Paper Mills. He joined Aylesford Paper Mill's athletic
club and gained the nickname the 'Maidstone Mudlark'.
Bad luck dogged Frank Sando’s Final race at
the 1952 Olympics:
Not even given an outside chance, the Kent
and Olympic runner Frank Sando became the hero of the 10,000 metres
race at the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, on Sunday. Hampered by a
damaged foot and the loss of a shoe, Sando bravely battled against
the odds to gain fifth place.
[Kent Messenger,
25/07/1952]
In the 1950s, Frank Sando was the world’s
leading cross county runner. At the International Cross-Country
Championships, between 1952 and 1960, he finished in the top three,
six times. In 1955 and 1957 Frank Sando was International Cross
Country Champion.
In 1963 he retired from serious running to
concentrate on family life and on his career as a statistician.
However, he continued to be involved with the Kent Athletics
Association in a variety of administrative roles, serving as
president in 1980 and 2003 and also organising cross-country events
until shortly before his death in October 2012.
