Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The #Olympic Torch will meet #Turing twice

Alan Turing running
The Olympic Torch will meet Alan Turing twice as it relays around Britain this summer. First on Saturday 23rd June when it goes through Manchester city centre and passes Turing's statue on Sackville St. and then on Monday 9th of July when it will visit Bletchley Park where Turing led a team of code-breakers in cracking the Nazi Enigma codes.
   This is very fitting since not only is it the centenary of Turing's birth but he was also an Olympic class long distance runner with a best time of 2 hours 46 minutes for the marathon. He even tried out for a place in Britains' Olympic team in 1948 when Britain last hosted the Olympics.  He only came fifth in the trials, it's believed because he was carrying an injury. It was even suggested that the London Olympic Marathon be called the Alan Turing Marathon in his honour, which I thought was a great idea.
   Isn't it interesting to consider that Turing had an outstanding mind in an outstanding body - clearly an example of mens sana in corpore sano.

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