Lewis Meredith (1882-1930) – GB - was the greatest British long-distance track racer of the day. He was unlucky at the 1908 Olympics suffering from punctures and problems over his spare bike. His missed winning his anticipated medal in the 100 kilometer cycle race, despite the fact that he broke the then world record by 6 minutes. Unfortunately for him, his record performance took place in the second heat, an epic race through driving rain around the concrete stadium track during which he fell badly (riders had no protective gear in those days) and yet still recovered to come in first. He did however win one gold medal as a member of the winning British team in the Team Pursuit race.