American athlete (1900?1943)
Charley Paddock
Charles Paddock after the 1920 Olympics
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Full name
| Charles William Paddock
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Nationality
| American
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Born
| (
1900-08-11
)
August 11, 1900
[1]
Gainesville, Texas
[1]
|
---|
Died
| July 21, 1943
(1943-07-21)
(aged 42)
[1]
Sitka, Alaska
[1]
|
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Height
| 5 ft
7
+
1
⁄
2
in (171 cm)
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Weight
| 165 lb (75 kg)
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Sport
| Athletics
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Event(s)
| 100 m, 200 m
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Personal
best(s)
| 100 m ? 10.2 (1921)
200 m ? 21.0 (1923)
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|
Charles William Paddock
(August 11, 1900 ? July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and two-time
Olympic
champion.
[2]
[3]
Biography
[
edit
]
Paddock was born in
Gainesville, Texas
, to Charles H. and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to
Pasadena, California
, when he was a child. After serving in
World War I
as a lieutenant of field artillery in the
U.S. Marines
, Paddock studied at the
University of Southern California
.
[4]
There he became a member of the track and field team, and excelled in the sprint events. He won the 100 and 200 m in the first major sporting event after the war, the 1919
Inter-Allied Games
, in which soldiers of the Allied nations competed against each other. Paddock was the first person named "The fastest man alive".
In 1920, Paddock represented his country at the
1920 Summer Olympics
in
Antwerp
. In Belgium, he had his greatest successes, winning the 100 m final, while placing second in the 200 m event. With the American 4 × 100 m relay team, Paddock won a third Olympic medal. Paddock became famous for his unusual finishing style, leaping towards the finish line at the end of the race.
The next year, he ran the 110
yd
, which is slightly more than 100 m, in 10.2 seconds. It was not until 1956 that the
world record for the 100 m
became lower than Paddock's time over 110 yard. Paddock broke or equaled several other world records over Imperial distances.
At the
1924 Olympics
, Paddock again qualified for both the 100 and 200 m finals, but he was less successful than four years earlier; he finished 5th in the 100 m and won another silver medal in the 200 m. Paddock was not a part of the American relay team. In
Chariots of Fire
, the 1981 Oscar-winning film about those races, Paddock was portrayed by
Dennis Christopher
. In 1928, Paddock participated in his
third Olympics
, but did not reach the 200 m final.
[2]
During his athletic activities, Paddock also held management positions in several newspapers; his father-in-law was newspaper publisher
Charles H. Prisk
. In 1926, Paddock appeared in
The Campus Flirt
, a black-and-white silent film (now lost) featuring another Texas native, Paramount starlet
Bebe Daniels
.
[5]
Paddock served on the personal staff of Major General
William P. Upshur
beginning at the end of
World War I
. An autobiography, entitled
The Fastest Human
, was published in 1932.
[1]
In 1943, during
World War II
, Upshur and Paddock (by then a captain) died in a plane crash near
Sitka
,
Alaska
. Paddock is interred at
Sitka National Cemetery
in Sitka.
[2]
[6]
[7]
In 1976 he was inducted into the
National Track and Field Hall of Fame
.
[8]
Competition record
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Charley Paddock"
.
britannica.com
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Retrieved
June 6,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Charley Paddock Olympic Results"
.
sports-reference.com
. Archived from
the original
on April 17, 2020
. Retrieved
October 15,
2012
.
- ^
"Charley Paddock"
.
Olympedia
. Retrieved
July 4,
2021
.
- ^
"PADDOCK, CHARLES WILLIAM"
. Texas State Historical Association
. Retrieved
October 19,
2012
.
- ^
E. R. Bills.
Texas Far & Wide: The Tornado with Eyes, Gettysburg's Last Casualty, The Celestial Skipping Stone and Other Tales
. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2017.
- ^
"Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War"
.
Sports Reference
. Archived from
the original
on April 17, 2020
. Retrieved
July 24,
2018
.
- ^
"Marine Chief in pacific, Famous Sprinter Killer"
.
The Ypsilanti Daily Press
. Ypsilanti, MI. July 23, 1943
. Retrieved
November 2,
2021
.
- ^
"Charlie Paddock"
.
usatf.org
. USA Track & Field, Inc
. Retrieved
April 1,
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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- 1912
:
David Jacobs
,
Henry Macintosh
,
Victor d'Arcy
,
Willie Applegarth
(
GBR
)
- 1920
:
Charley Paddock
,
Jackson Scholz
,
Loren Murchison
,
Morris Kirksey
(
USA
)
- 1924
:
Loren Murchison
,
Louis Clarke
,
Frank Hussey
,
Al LeConey
(
USA
)
- 1928
:
Frank Wykoff
,
James Quinn
,
Charley Borah
,
Henry Russell
(
USA
)
- 1932
:
Bob Kiesel
,
Emmett Toppino
,
Hector Dyer
,
Frank Wykoff
(
USA
)
- 1936
:
Jesse Owens
,
Ralph Metcalfe
,
Foy Draper
,
Frank Wykoff
(
USA
)
- 1948
:
Barney Ewell
,
Lorenzo Wright
,
Harrison Dillard
,
Mel Patton
(
USA
)
- 1952
:
Dean Smith
,
Harrison Dillard
,
Lindy Remigino
,
Andy Stanfield
(
USA
)
- 1956
:
Ira Murchison
,
Leamon King
,
Thane Baker
,
Bobby Morrow
(
USA
)
- 1960
:
Bernd Cullmann
,
Armin Hary
,
Walter Mahlendorf
,
Martin Lauer
(
EUA
)
- 1964
:
Paul Drayton
,
Gerry Ashworth
,
Richard Stebbins
,
Bob Hayes
(
USA
)
- 1968
:
Charles Greene
,
Mel Pender
,
Ronnie Ray Smith
,
Jim Hines
(
USA
)
- 1972
:
Larry Black
,
Robert Taylor
,
Gerald Tinker
,
Eddie Hart
(
USA
)
- 1976
:
Harvey Glance
,
Lam Jones
,
Millard Hampton
,
Steve Riddick
(
USA
)
- 1980
:
Vladimir Muravyov
,
Nikolay Sidorov
,
Aleksandr Aksinin
,
Andrey Prokofyev
(
URS
)
- 1984
:
Sam Graddy
,
Ron Brown
,
Calvin Smith
,
Carl Lewis
(
USA
)
- 1988
:
Viktor Bryzhin
,
Vladimir Krylov
,
Vladimir Muravyov
,
Vitaliy Savin
(
URS
)
- 1992
:
Michael Marsh
,
Leroy Burrell
,
Dennis Mitchell
,
Carl Lewis
,
James Jett
(
USA
)
- 1996
:
Robert Esmie
,
Glenroy Gilbert
,
Bruny Surin
,
Donovan Bailey
,
Carlton Chambers
(
CAN
)
- 2000
:
Jon Drummond
,
Bernard Williams
,
Brian Lewis
,
Maurice Greene
,
Tim Montgomery
,
Kenny Brokenburr
(
USA
)
- 2004
:
Jason Gardener
,
Darren Campbell
,
Marlon Devonish
,
Mark Lewis-Francis
(
GBR
)
- 2008
:
Keston Bledman
,
Marc Burns
,
Emmanuel Callender
,
Richard Thompson
,
Aaron Armstrong
(
TTO
)
- 2012
:
Nesta Carter
,
Michael Frater
,
Yohan Blake
,
Usain Bolt
,
Bailey-Cole
(
JAM
)
- 2016
:
Asafa Powell
,
Yohan Blake
,
Nickel Ashmeade
,
Usain Bolt
,
Jevaughn Minzie
,
Kemar Bailey-Cole
(
JAM
)
- 2020
:
Lorenzo Patta
,
Marcell Jacobs
,
Fausto Desalu
,
Filippo Tortu
(
ITA
)
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1876?1878
New York Athletic Club
| |
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1879?1888
NAAAA
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1888?1979
Amateur Athletic Union
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1980?1992
The Athletics Congress
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1993?present
USA Track & Field
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Notes
|
- Note 1
: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT
: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT
: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
- Distance
:Until 1927 the event was over 100 yards, and again from 1929-31
- ro
:In 1886 the event was won after a run-off
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1876?1878
New York Athletic Club
| |
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1879?1888
NAAAA
| |
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1888?1979
Amateur Athletic Union
| |
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1980?1992
The Athletics Congress
| |
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1993?onwards
USA Track & Field
| |
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Notes
|
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
- *USA: Leading American athlete
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