1956 Melbourne – Bobby Morrow – United States of America

Bobby Joe Morrow (born October 15, 1935) was an American athlete, winner of three Olympic gold medals in 1956. Born in Harlingen, Texas, Bobby Joe Morrow, before becoming a sprinter, played football at high school.

Morrow, who had won the 1955 AAU 100 yd title, had his most successful season in 1956, which led to his choice by Sports Illustrated as "Sportsman of the Year." Morrow won the sprint double in the national college championships and retained his AAU title. Late in the season, Morrow went to Melbourne as a leader of the American sprint team. He came back with three gold medals.

First, Morrow was victorious in the 100 m. Next, he led an American sweep of the medals in the 200 m, equalling the Olympic Record as well. As an anchorman for the 4 x 100 m relay team, he won his third gold, setting a World Record as well.

After the Olympics, Morrow's success on a national level continued, but he retired in 1958. He made a short comeback before the 1960 Olympics, but he failed to qualify for the Olympic team. After his retirement, Bobby Joe Morrow became a farmer and woodworker.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Olympic Final

Time

Bobby Morrow USA

10.5

Thane Baker USA

10.5

Hector Hogan AUS

10.6

Ira Murchison USA

10.6

Manfred Germar FRG

10.7

Michael Agostini TRI

10.7

1952 Helsinki – Lindy Remigino – United States of America

Lindy John Remigino (born June 3, 1931) is an American athlete, the 1952 Olympic 100 m champion. Born in Elmhurst, New York, Remigino's qualification for the 1952 Summer Olympics was already a surprise. Being hardly convincing in the major meets earlier in the year, he placed second at the Olympic trials.

In Helsinki, the Olympic 100 m final was one of the most exciting ever in the history of the event. All six athletes finished very close to each other, the times ranging from 10,4 for the first four to 10,5 for the fifth and sixth runners. Initially, Herb McKenley appeared to be the winner, beating Remigino on the line. However, examination of the finish photo showed Remigino had won the title.

Later in the Games, Remigino would win a second gold medal running for the American 4 x 100 m relay team that took first place.

After his running career, Remigino became a high school athletics coach.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Olympic Final

Time

Lindy Remigino USA

10.4

Herb McKenley JAM

10.4

E. McDonald-Bailey GBR

10.4

Dean Smith USA

10.4

Vladimir Sukharev URS

10.5

John Treloar AUS

10.5

1948 London – Harrison Dillard – United States of America

William Harrison Dillard (born July 8, 1923) is an American athlete, the only one so far to win Olympic titles in both sprinting and hurdling events. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Harrison Dillard, after serving army duty during World War II, returned to college and resumed athletics, to which he had been inspired by Jesse Owens, who was also from Cleveland. He particularly excelled in hurdling, and was probably the best hurdler in the world shortly after the war. However, at the trials for the 1948 Summer Olympics, Dillard failed to qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, although he qualified as third (and last) for the 100 m, not his specialty.

At the Games, Dillard reached the final, which seemed to end in a dead heat between Dillard and another American, Barney Ewell. The finish photo showed Dillard had won, equalling the World Record as well. As a member of the 4 x 100 m relay team, he won another gold medal at the London Games.

Four years later, still a strong hurdler, Dillard did qualify for the 110 m hurdles event, and won the event in Helsinki. Another 4 x 100 m relay victory yielded Dillard's fourth Olympic title. Harrison Dillard attempted to qualify for a third Olympics in 1956, but failed.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Olympic Final

Time

Harrison Dillard USA

10.3

Norwell Ewell USA

10.4

Lloyd LaBeach PAN

10.4

Alastair McCorquodale GBR

10.4

Melvin Patton USA

10.5

E. McDonald-Bailey GBR

10.6

1936 Berlin – Jesse Owens - United States of America

JAMES CLEVELAND OWENS (b. Sept. 12, 1913, Oakville, Ala., U.S.--d. March 31, 1980, Phoenix, Ariz.), outstanding American track-and-field athlete, who set a world record in the running broad jump (also called long jump) that stood for 25 years and who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

As a student in a Cleveland high school, Owens won three events in the 1933 National Interscholastic Championships, Chicago. In one day, May 25, 1935, while competing for Ohio State University (Columbus) in a Western Conference (Big Ten) track-and-field meet at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Owens equaled the world record for the 100-yard dash (9.4 s) and broke the world records for the 220-yard dash (20.3 s), the 220-yard low hurdles (22.6 s), and the running broad jump (8.13 m [26 feet 8 1/4 inches]). As a member of the United States team in the 1936 Olympic Games, Owens tied the Olympic record in the 100-metre run (10.3 s); broke Olympic and listed world records in the 200-metre run (20.7 s) and the running broad jump (8.06 m; his world-record leap in 1935 had not yet been officially accepted); and ran the final segment for the world-record-breaking U.S. 400-metre relay team (39.8 s). For a time, Owens held alone or shared the world records for all sprint distances recognized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

After retiring from competitive track, Owens engaged in boys' guidance activities, made goodwill visits to India and the Far East for the U.S. Department of State, served as secretary of the Illinois State Athletic Commission, and worked in public relations.         

Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica

Olympic Final

Time

Jesse Owens USA

10.3

Ralph Metcalfe USA

10.4

Martinus Osendarp NED

10.5

Frank Wykoff USA

10.6

Erich Borchmeyer GER

10.7

Lennart Strandberg SWE

10.9

1932 Los Angeles – Eddie Tolan – United States of America

Tolan (center) with Metcalfe (left) and Simpson (right)

THOMAS EDWARD TOLAN, byname THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (b. Sept. 29, 1909, Denver, Colo., U.S.--d. Jan. 30, 1967, Detroit, Mich.), American sprinter, the first black athlete to win two Olympic gold medals. In his track career Tolan won 300 races, losing only 7.

While attending high school in Detroit, Mich., Tolan was a city and state champion in the 100- and 200-yard dashes. At the University of Michigan, he attracted national attention in 1929 when he set a record in the 100-yard dash (9.5 seconds) and tied the record of 10.4 seconds in the 100-metre dash. The 5 foot 6 inch Tolan, who raced with his spectacles taped to his head, won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in the 200- and 220-yard dashes and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship in the 100- and 220-yard events between 1929 and 1931. He finished second to Ralph Metcalfe in the 100- and 200-metre dashes in the trials for the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the Games themselves, however, Tolan set an Olympic record by handily winning the 200-metre in 21.2 seconds, and he eked out a narrow photo-finish victory over Metcalfe in the 100-metre in 10.3 seconds, setting a world record. Subsequently, Tolan had a brief career as a vaudeville performer with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and later became a schoolteacher.

Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica

Olympic Final

Time

Eddie Tolan USA

10.3

Ralph Metcalfe USA

10.3

Arthur Jonath GER

10.4

George Simpson USA

10.5

Daniel Joubert RSA

10.6

Takayoshi Yoshioka JPN

10.7

1928 Amsterdam – Percy Williams – Canada

PERCY WILLIAMS (b. May 19, 1908, Vancouver, B.C., Can.--d. Nov. 29, 1982, Vancouver), Canadian sprinter, winner of two upset gold medals at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.

When Williams was 15 years old he suffered from rheumatic fever and was told to avoid strenuous exercise. Nevertheless he became a sprinter and in 1928 ran the 100-metre dash in 10.6 sec to win a place on the Canadian Olympic team. At those Games the slightly built 20-year-old tied the Olympic record in the second round of the 100-metre dash. In the final race, he led from the beginning; his victory was so unexpected that the medal ceremony had to be delayed while officials searched for a Canadian flag. In the 200-metre dash he came from behind to win his second gold medal of the Games. His success continued into 1930, when he won the 100-metre dash in the Canadian championships while setting a world record of 10.3 sec. In the same year, he finished first in the 100 yards in the first British Empire Games (now called Commonwealth Games), held in Hamilton, Ont., Canada

Percy Williams was voted Canada's Greatest Track Athlete of the first half century. The unfortunate suicide of Percy Williams overshadowed, to a large degree, his accomplishments.

Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica

Olympic Final

Time

Percy Williams CAN

10.8

Jack London GBR

10.9

Georg Lammers GER

10.9

Frank Wykoff USA

11.0

Wilfred Legg RSA

11.0

Robert McAllister USA

11.0

1924 Paris – Harold Abrahams – United Kingdom

HAROLD MAURICE ABRAHAMS (b. Dec. 15, 1899, Bedford, England--d. Jan. 14, 1978, London), British athlete who won a gold medal in the 100-metre dash at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.

Abrahams was born into an athletic family; his older brother Sidney represented Great Britain in the Olympics in 1912. Abrahams participated in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp but did not win a medal. Competing for Cambridge University from 1920 to 1924, he won a series of victories over Oxford in sprint and long jump events. In 1924 Abrahams began an intensive training program under the direction of athletics coach Sam Mussabini. Just one month prior to the Olympics, Abrahams set a British record in the long jump, although he preferred the sprint and was excused from competing in the long jump in Paris.

At the 1924 Olympics, Abrahams defeated heavily favoured American competitors including Jackson Scholz and Charles Paddock, the latter the defending Olympic champion and world record holder. His main British rival in the sprint, Eric Liddell, was a devout Christian and did not run in the 100-metre event, which was held on a Sunday; Liddell instead ran in the 400-metre, winning the gold medal. Abrahams shared a silver medal as a member of Britain's 400-metre relay team. Liddell's and Abrahams' experiences at the 1924 Olympics provided the subject of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which emphasized Abrahams' Judaism and portrayed his victory as a personal triumph over anti-Semitism.

Abrahams suffered an injury in 1925 that ended his athletic career. He later became an attorney, radio broadcaster, and sports administrator, serving as chairman of the British Amateur Athletics Board from 1968 to 1975. He wrote widely about athletics and authored a number of books, including The Olympic Games, 1896-1952.

Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica

Olympic Final

Time

Harold Abrahams GBR

10.6

Jackson Scholz USA

10.8

Arthur Porritt NZL

10.9

Chester Bowman USA

10.9

Charles Paddock USA

10.9

Loren Murchison USA

11.0

1920 Antwerp – Charles Paddock – United States of America

CHARLES WILLIAM PADDOCK (b. Aug. 11, 1900, Gainesville, Texas, U.S.--d. July 21, 1943, near Sitka, Alaska), U.S. sprinter, world-record holder for the 100-metre dash (1921-30) and the 200-metre dash (1921-26). He also held the world record for the 100-yard dash (1921, 1924-26) and the 220-yard dash (1921-26). In addition, he was a member of a world-record-holding 4 100-metre team (1920-24).

Paddock ran for the University of Southern California, from which he was graduated in 1922. He served in the U.S. Field Artillery (1918-19) during World War I. In the 1920 Olympic Games at Antwerp, he won the gold medal for the 100-metre race, the silver medal for the 200-metre race, and a gold medal as a member of the 4 100-metre relay team. In the 1924 Olympic Games at Paris, he placed fifth in the 100-metre race and won the silver medal in the 200-metre race.

After his retirement from running, Paddock went into the newspaper business and was a successful writer, editor, and publisher. He died in a plane crash while serving in the Marine Corps during World War II.

Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica

Olympic Final

Time

Charles Paddock USA

10.8

Morris Kirksey USA

10.8

Harry Edward GRB

10.9

Jackson Scholz USA

10.9

Emile Ali Kahn FRA

11.1

Loren Murchison USA

11.2

1912 Stockholm – Ralph Craig – United States of America

Ralph Cook Craig was born June 21, 1889, in Detroit. He graduated from Central High in 1907, having specialized in the hurdles. However, competing at the University of Michigan under the coaching of Keene Fitzpatrick, he evolved into one of the top sprinters in the world. He captured two prestigious IC4A titles in the 220 (1910-11), each time equalling the world record for the 220y-straight, 21.2. He also nabbed the 100 yards crown in 1911.

Graduation that year left him hurting for training facilities and racing opportunities. He competed for the Detroit YMCA despite the lack of adequate facilities. After making the 1912 Olympic team, he reportedly trained very hard while in Sweden preceding the meet. He won the 100 in 10.8 after an amazing seven false starts marred the event; no disqualification came his way, despite reports that he had been responsible for three of them. In capturing that gold he beat bronze medalist Donald Lippincott, who had run a world record of 10.6 in the heats.

In the 200, Craig came from behind on the turn to take the lead with 80 meters left. Though Lippincott came on fast, Craig easily held him off, 21.7 to 21.8.Craig was not named to the 4 x 100 squad, which was disqualified for an out-of-zone pass.

After the Olympics, Craig retired from sprinting. In his later years, he took up yachting, and in 1948, at age 59, he was selected an alternate for the U.S. yachting team in the London Olympics. Though he did not compete, he was accorded the honor of carrying the Stars & Stripes into the opening ceremonies. He died July 21, 1972, in Lake George, New York.           

Courtesy: Michigan Track Hall of Fame

Olympic Final

Time

Ralph Craig USA

10.8

Alvin Meyer USA

10.9

Donald Lippincott USA

10.9

George Patching RSA

10.9

Frank Belote USA

11.0

1908 London – Reginald Walker – South Africa

Reginald Edgar Walker (March 16, 1889 - November 5, 1951) was a South African athlete and the 1908 Olympic champion in the 100 m. Born in Natal, Walker, the 1907 South African Champion, was not among the big favourites for the 100 m at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He even had trouble getting to London, as there weren't enough funds for that, until a Natal sportswriter collected funds to support Walker. In England, he was coached by Sam Mussabini, later also the coach of Harold Abrahams.

Several of the big names did not qualify for the final, but Walker did. There he competed against three North Americans, of which James Rector of the United States had equalled the Olympic Record in the heats, as had Walker. Beating Rector in the final by about a feet and half, Walker is still the youngest winner of the Olympic 100 m as of 2002 (at 19 years and 128 days).

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Olympic Final

Time

Reginald Walker RSA

10.8

John Rector USA

10.9