John Mark (athlete)

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John Mark (16 August 1925 – 8 December 1991) was a British sprinter best known for lighting the Olympic flame at the 1948 London Games. He went to Cranleigh School and then Cambridge University, where he was a top athlete and a rugby forward. He served as president of the Cambridge University Athletic Club and narrowly missed earning a Cambridge Blue because of an injury. In 1947 he finished fourth in the AAA 440 yards and was selected to represent Britain in the 400 metres in Paris; he also won two silver medals in relay events at the AAA Championships. Late in 1947, he was shortlisted for the London Olympics, and his Olympian looks helped him become the torchbearer. On 29 July 1948 he carried the torch into Wembley Stadium and lit the flame in its bowl. After the Games he worked as a general practitioner in a rural practice in Liss, Hampshire, until retirement. He died of a stroke.