John Crammond worked a stockbroker in the City of London and was also a qualified pilot and an amateur yachtsman. He had first competed on the Cresta Run at St. Moritz in the late twenties and was a regular winner on the course throughout the thirties including the prestigious Grand National in 1938.
Crammond served in the Royal Air Force during World War Two but resumed his sliding activities post war. He held the lead at the halfway point of the Olympic competition but slipped back on the last three runs to finish third. As of 2009 he is the oldest Olympic medallist in skeleton as he was 41 years old when he competed in St. Moritz.
He continued competing on the Cresta run until 1952 then retired from his job and spent the next twenty five years sailing his yacht around the Mediterranean. Crammond also worked as a journalist covering winter sports for The Observer.
Great Britain