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Student becomes second man to beat famous clock

"It was an amazing feeling. I can't believe I've actually set the record for it."

Sam Dobin

A student at Cambridge University in England has become only the second man ever to beat the clock in a historic running race immortalized in the film Chariots of Fire, newspapers reported yesterday.

The Oscar-winning 1981 movie, based on the lives of two rival sprinters, shows one -- Harold Abrahams -- successfully running the 367m around the great court at Trinity College within the 43 seconds it takes the clock to strike noon.

In reality, the only person to have completed the feat was Lord David Burghley in 1927 -- until 19-year-old economics undergraduate Sam Dobin beat the clock this week.

"It was an amazing feeling. I can't believe I've actually set the record for it," he told the Daily Mail newspaper.

He said he hoped to be part of Britain's squad for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Sebastian Coe, a British middle distance runner who won two Olympic gold medals and is now a member of the House of Lords, attempted the feat in 1988.

He came very close, although his effort is not recognized by Trinity because the college clock had been wound the day before and chimed more quickly than usual, therefore depriving Coe of the accolade, Trinity's Web site says.

"This is a truly tremendous achievement and a rare moment in Trinity's history," the college's dean, professor Kevin Gray, said.

The 17th century court is the most famous part of the prestigious college, which was founded by King Henry VIII in 1546.

It is an annual tradition for athletic students who are just starting at the college to try the run at midday on the day of the welcome dinner which the college throws for them.
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