Noah Lyles recently won gold for the U.S. at the Paris 2024 Olympics, sprinting 100 metres in 9.79 seconds. A century earlier, also in Paris, Repton School alumnus Harold Abrahams won gold for Great Britain (GB), finishing the 100-metre final in 10.60 seconds. His remarkable performance inspired the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire.
Abrahams isn’t the only Old Reptonian (OR) to have competed in the Olympics. Here are 17 other OR athletes — and one current Repton pupil — whose Olympic achievements continue to inspire young athletes at Repton School and beyond.
1. Walter Buckmaster
Buckmaster was the first OR known to compete in the Olympics. Recognised as one of England’s finest polo players, he won silver medals for GB in the Paris 1900 and London 1908 Games.
Buckmaster played football for Repton School and, later, for Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was captain of the polo team. Throughout his polo career, he won the Champion Cup 11 times. After retiring from playing polo in 1923, he continued his involvement in sports as an umpire.
2. Raymond Etherington-Smith
Etherington-Smith won a gold medal for GB in a coxed eights rowing event at the 1908 Olympics. His team triumphed in what many consider “one of the great races in Olympic rowing history,” finishing two lengths ahead of their competitors.
Etherington-Smith rowed in the crucial number seven position, providing vital support behind the stroke or pacesetter. Repton still has his oars on display at the Tithe Barn.
3. Edgar Page
Page helped England win gold in field hockey at the 1908 Olympics. Over his 13-year international hockey career, he earned 15 caps as a centre-half.
From his school days at Repton, Page showed impressive sporting versatility. After leaving the School, he played football for the ORs, cricket for Staffordshire, and hockey for various clubs, including Penn Fields and Wolverhampton.
4. Frederick Phillips
Phillips also competed at the 1908 Olympics, helping Wales win a bronze medal in field hockey. At that time, the UK competed as four separate nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
Both Phillips and Page left enduring legacies as the first of many OR Olympic hockey players. However, it took 40 more years for another Repton hockey player to appear in the Olympics.
5. Eric Hussey
Hussey was the fifth OR to compete in the London 1908 Olympics, representing GB in the 110-metre hurdles.
A talented hurdler and scholar, Hussey earned an Oxford Blue for his athletic achievements and won the 110-metre hurdles against Cambridge in 1906. He also played football for his university. His personal best in the 120-yard hurdles was 15.7 seconds, set in 1907.
6. Arthur Willis
While Abrahams made history at the 1924 Games, OR Willis also competed for GB in the men’s high jump. Unfortunately, he didn’t progress past the qualifying round.
A distinguished athlete, Willis earned several high jump titles, including the Irish title in 1922 and second place in the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) Championships in 1924. He also won the Army high jump title four times from 1921 to 1924.
7. John Peake
Carrying on the tradition of OR hockey players, Peake was part of the GB team that won a silver medal at the London 1948 Olympics. At 23 years old, he was the team’s youngest member. Despite limited training sessions as a squad, the team performed exceptionally well, losing only to the dominant Indian team in the final.
This was Peake’s only major field hockey tournament. However, he stayed active in sports well into his later years, completing the Westminster Mile in 2018 aged 93. He also received a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to industrial equipment design.
8. John Parker
Parker represented GB in the 110-metre hurdles at both the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. In the 1964 heats, he was the fastest in the world and advanced to the semi-finals. In 1968, he finished fourth in his heat.
Parker also competed for England in the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, where he won a silver medal. Throughout his Olympic career, he worked full-time as an advertising executive in London and had to take unpaid leave to take part in the Games.
9. Andrew Griffiths
Continuing Repton’s tradition of elite-level hockey, Griffiths represented Canada at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He played in over 200 international games with the Canadian team, including two World Cup tournaments and three Pan American Games.
Griffiths is now a seasoned hockey coach and leads the hockey programme at Old Dominion University in the U.S. He previously served as an assistant coach for the U.S. senior women’s national team from 2003 to 2004. He was also a consultant for the Canadian men’s national field hockey team during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
10. Ben Sharpe
Sharpe also competed in the 2000 Games, representing GB in hockey. The year before, he helped England secure a bronze medal at the 1999 European Cup, scoring two goals against Belgium. Besides playing for England, Sharpe was also a member of Cannock Hockey Club.
11. Charlotte Craddock
Craddock was the youngest member of the Team GB women’s hockey squad at the Beijing 2008 Olympics. She made her international debut as a forward against Argentina in 2007 and helped England win bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
As the first female OR to compete in the Olympics, Craddock paved the way for many Repton women to play hockey at the Olympic level over the next 16 years.
12. Georgie Twigg
A double Olympic medallist in women’s hockey, Twigg was part of the GB team that won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Twigg made her international debut in 2010 and quickly made an impact. She played a crucial role in securing England’s bronze medals at the World Cup and Commonwealth Games that same year. She also helped England clinch the European Championship title in 2015.
13. Shona McCallin
McCallin played alongside Twigg at the 2016 Olympics and the 2015 European Championship. She later helped Team GB win a bronze medal in women’s hockey at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. McCallin was also a key member of the England team that claimed gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
14. Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson was also part of the GB squad that won bronze at the 2020 Olympics. She began playing hockey at age five and has made 169 appearances for Wales since her international debut in 2004, making her the most-capped Welsh athlete ever.
A key player for the Welsh women’s hockey team since 2017, Wilkinson has competed in the Commonwealth Games four times.
15. Charlotte Stapenhorst
Stapenhorst is one of three ORs and one current Reptonian who competed in the 2024 Olympic Games, marking her third Olympic appearance for Germany. She previously earned a bronze medal with the German women’s hockey team at the 2016 Games and also competed at the 2020 Games.
Throughout her hockey career, Stapenhorst has scored 59 goals and helped win over half of her matches. She scored five goals for Germany at the 2024 Olympics, though the team lost to Argentina in the quarter-finals on 5 August.
16. Flora Peel
Peel made her Olympic debut as a member of Team GB women’s hockey squad at the 2024 Olympics. Unfortunately, the team did not win a medal, losing to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
Previously a British slalom champion at age 12, Peel transitioned from skiing to hockey. In 2022, she helped England win its first-ever gold medal in women’s hockey at the Commonwealth Games. Peel is also a descendant of Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and founder of the Metropolitan Police Service.
17. Lily Walker
Walker also made her Olympic debut at the 2024 Games as a reserve with the GB women’s hockey squad. The midfielder earned her first England senior cap in 2021 and played in the 2022 World Cup. She also contributed to England’s gold-medal win at the Commonwealth Games that same year, held on her home university grounds in Birmingham.
18. Eva Okaro
At age 17, swimming sensation Okaro was one of the youngest competitors at the 2024 Games and is currently a pupil at Repton School. She is also the first Black woman to represent Team GB in the pool, following trailblazer Alice Dearing, who competed in open-water swimming at the 2020 Games.
Okaro was a member of Team GB’s women’s 4 x 100-metre freestyle relay squad. In the final on 27 July, the team finished in seventh place with a time of 3:35.25.
Repton School: A Century of Olympic Excellence
Repton School’s century-long Olympic history showcases its deep sporting tradition and dedication to athletic excellence. Pioneers like Buckmaster, Etherington-Smith, and Abrahams set the stage for modern stars like Wilkinson and Okaro.
Likewise, these 21st-century Olympians are sure to inspire future Reptonians to achieve great heights in athletics and uphold the School’s proud sporting legacy.
About Repton School
Situated in the rural village of Repton, Derbyshire, Repton is one of the UK’s top co-educational independent day and boarding schools. The School delivers an excellent education, offering an array of traditional and contemporary subjects and extracurricular activities.
Repton’s Pastoral care framework focuses on pupil well-being, safeguarding, and life in the boarding houses. The School’s house system fosters a supportive community for both day pupils and boarders. In 2022, the Muddy Stilettos Best Schools Awards recognised Repton as the Happiest Boarding School in the country.
Repton features first-rate sporting facilities and supports athletic development for all pupils. The School offers a diverse sports programme with a focus on six key disciplines: swimming, hockey, cricket, football, tennis, and netball.
Additionally, Repton’s High Performance Programme provides the School’s most promising athletes with dedicated mentors who guide them through their Repton journey. This support goes beyond skill development, focusing on shaping attitudes and values and offering emotional and psychological assistance.
