Sprinting in History

Events 1 - 100 of 116

• 1896-04-10 American athlete Thomas Burke claims the sprint double at the Athens Olympics winning the 100m final in 12.0s; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 400m
• 1909-04-24 Harry Hillman and Lawson Robertson run 100m 3-legged race in 11 seconds
• 1912-07-06 Donald Lippincott runs world record 100m (10.6)

• 1921-04-23 Charles Paddock runs world record 100m (10.4 secs)
• 1928-07-31 In the first women’s Olympic track event, American sprinter Elizabeth Robinson equals her own world record 12.2s to win 100m gold medal in Amsterdam; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld & Ethel Smith dead-heat (12.3s)
• 1930-08-09 Percy Williams runs world record 100m (10.3 sec)

• 1936-08-03 American sprinter Jesse Owens wins the 100m (10.3 seconds) in front of Adolf Hitler in a famous race at the Berlin Olympics, first of 4 gold medals at the Games
• 1936-08-04 American Helen Stephens runs 11.5 to win the 100m at the Berlin Olympics, beating controversial intersex athlete Stanisława Walasiewicz of Poland
• 1936-08-09 Helen Stephens claims the women's sprint double at the Berlin Olympics having won the 100m and as part of the victorious American 4 x 100m relay team
• 1936-08-09 Jesse Owens is part of the American 4 x 100m relay team that wins gold in world record (39.8) at the Berlin Olympics; his 4th gold medal of the Games
• 1948-07-31 American sprinter Harrison Dillard runs an Olympic record 10.3s to beat countryman Barney Ewell for the 100m gold medal at the London Olympics
• 1948-08-02 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins the 100m in 11.9 at the London Olympics; 1st of unprecedented 3 individual track & field gold medals
• 1948-08-06 Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins London Olympics 200m in 24.4s to become the first women to claim 3 individual track & field gold at a Games, having already won the 100m and 80m hurdles
• 1948-08-07 Fanny Blankers-Koen of the Netherlands wins her 4th track & field gold medal of the London Olympics as part of the Dutch 4 x 100m relay team in 47.5
• 1956-08-03 American sprinter Willie Williams sets 100m world record at 10.1 in Berlin, Germany
• 1956-11-24 Americans go 1-2 in the men's 100m final at the Melbourne Olympics; Bobby Morrow and Thane Baker both record hand-timed 10.50s but automatic timing gives gold medal to Morrow

• 1956-11-30 Australian Betty Cuthbert takes Olympic sprint double when she runs OR equalling 23.4s to win the 200m gold medal at the Melbourne Games; beats Christa Stubnick in repeat of 100m final 4 days earlier
• 1956-12-01 Australian women's 4 x 100m relay team of Norma Croker, Betty Cuthbert, Fleur Mellor & Shirley Strickland de la Hunty run world record 44.65 to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Cuthbert's 3rd gold of the Games
• 1956-12-01 US men's 4 x 100m relay team of Thane Baker, Leamon King, Bobby Morrow & Ira Murchison sets world record 39.60s to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Morrow's 3rd gold medal of the Games
• 1960-06-21 German sprinter Armin Hary runs world record 100m (10.0)
• 1960-09-01 German sprinter Armin Hary wins the coveted 100m gold medal in 10.2 at the Rome Olympics; first non-American to win the event since 1928

• 1960-09-08 American sprinter Wilma Rudolph wins her third gold medal of the Rome Olympics anchoring the US 4 x 100m relay team; earlier won 100/200m double
• 1960-09-08 German 4 x 100m relay team equal world record 39.5 to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics; Bernd Cullmann, Armin Hary, Walter Mahlendorf & Martin Lauer
• 1964-10-15 American sprinter Bob Hayes equals world record 10.0s to beat Cuba's Enrique Figuerola by 0.2s and win the men's 100m gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
• 1964-10-16 In an incredibly close women's 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics American sprinter Wyomia Tyus runs 11.4s to beat teammate Edith McGuire by 0.2s; Ewa Kłobukowska of Poland takes bronze with the same time as McGuire
• 1964-10-19 American sprinter Edith McGuire runs an Olympic record 23.0 to win the women's 200m gold medal in Tokyo; minor place medallists Irena Szewińska of Poland and Australian Marilyn Black both record 23.1
• 1964-10-21 Polish 4×100m women's relay team runs a world record 43.6 to beat the US by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Teresa Ciepły, Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Górecka & Ewa Kłobukowska
• 1964-10-21 US 4 x 100m men's relay team of Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes run world record 39.0s to beat Poland by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics

• 1968-10-14 American sprinter Jim Hines runs a world record 9.95s to beat Lennox Miller of Jamaica and Charles Greene of the US, and win the 100m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
• 1968-10-15 American sprinter Wyomia Tyus wins her second consecutive Olympic 100m title with a world record 11.08s; beats teammate Barbara Ferrell by 0.08s for the gold medal at the Mexico City Games
• 1968-10-18 Polish sprinter Irena Szewińska runs a world record 22.58s to beat Australian Raelene Boyle by 0.16s and win the 200m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
• 1968-10-20 American sprinter Jim Hines anchors US men's 4 x 100m relay team to win his second gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; with teammates Charles Greene, Mel Pender & Ronnie Ray Smith sets world record 38.24s
• 1968-10-20 US women's 4 x 100m relay team sets world record 42.88s to win the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; Margaret Bailes, Barbara Ferrell, Mildrette Netter & Wyomia Tyus
• 1968-10-26 Charlie Hickcox wins his 3rd gold medal of the Mexico City Olympics when he leads the US men's 4 x 100m medley relay team with teammates Don McKenzie, Doug Russell & Ken Walsh to world record 3:54.9
• 1972-09-01 Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union runs 10.14 to beat American Robert Miller and Lennox Miller of Jamaica in the coveted men's 100m final at the Munich Olympics
• 1972-09-02 East German sprinter Renate Stecher sets world record 11.07 to beat Raelene Boyle of Australia for the women's 100m gold medal at the Munich Olympics
• 1972-09-04 Soviet sprinter Valeriy Borzov runs 20.00 to win the men's 200m gold medal at the Munich Olympics; wraps up the 100/200m double at the Games

• 1972-09-07 East German sprinter Renate Stecher runs a world record equalling 22.40 in the 200m final to repeat her 100m win over Australia's Raelene Boyle at the Munich Olympics
• 1972-09-08 East German Annelie Ehrhardt with a world record 12.59 takes the 100m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics; beats Romanian Valeria Bufanu by just 0.25
• 1972-09-10 American men's 4 x 100m relay team of Larry Black, Robert Taylor, Gerald Tinker & Eddie Hart combine for a world record 38.19 to beat the Soviet Union for the gold medal at the Munich Olympics
• 1972-09-10 East v West in a women's 4 x 100m relay at the Munich Olympics; West Germany beats East Germany by 0.13 seconds for the gold medal
• 1976-06-13 German sprinter Inge Helten runs female WR 100m (11.04) at Fürth, West Germany
• 1976-07-25 Annegret Richter runs 100m (11.01)
• 1976-11-23 Apneist Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100m undersea without breathing equipment.
• 1977-07-01 East German sprinter Marlies Göhr sets world record for 100m (10.88) in Dresden, Germany
• 1982-08-18 NYSE tops 100m shares traded for the 1st time, sets a new record of 132.69m shares traded
• 1983-06-08 East German sprinter Marlies Göhr sets world record for 100m (10.81) in Berlin, Germany
• 1983-07-03 American Calvin Smith sets new world record of 9.93 for 100m in Colorado Springs, beats Jim Hines 1968 mark by 0.02 seconds

• 1984-08-04 American athlete Carl Lewis wins the 100m in 9.9 seconds in Los Angeles, first of 9 Olympic gold medals over 3 Games
• 1984-08-05 Evelyn Ashford runs an Olympic 100m record time of 10.97 to beat American teammate Alice Brown in the LA Games final
• 1984-08-11 Carl Lewis duplicates Jesse Owens' 1936 feat, winning his 4th Olympic gold medal as part of the US 4 x 100m relay team; world record (37.83)
• 1987-08-30 2nd World Championships in Athletics: Carl Lewis wins gold in 100m after Ben Johnson is disqualified
• 1987-08-30 Ben Johnson of Canada runs 100m in world record 9.83 sec
• 1988-07-16 Carl Lewis runs a wind-assisted 100m in 9.78 sec
• 1988-07-16 Florence Joyner runs 100m in women's world record 10.49 seconds

• 1988-08-20 Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria sets 100m hurdle woman's record (12.21)
• 1988-09-24 Canada's Ben Johnson runs drug-assisted 100m in 9.79 sec
• 1988-09-24 Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson breaks his own 100m world record with a time of 9.79 at the Seoul Olympics; disqualified 3 days later for use of drug stanozolol; Carl Lewis awarded gold and world record 9.92
• 1988-09-24 Carl Lewis runs world record 100m (9.92 sec)
• 1988-09-25 American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner wins women's 100m in Olympic record 10.54; beats teammate Evelyn Ashford by 0.29; 1st leg of sprint double at Seoul Games
• 1988-09-27 Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is disqualified from the Seoul Olympics 100m after his urine sample found to contain steroid stanozolol; American Carl Lewis awarded gold medal and world record 9.92
• 1988-09-29 American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner sets women's 200m world record 21.34; completes sprint double at the Seoul Olympics
• 1988-10-01 Flamboyant American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner wins her third gold medal of the Seoul Olympics anchoring the victorious US 4 x 100m relay team
• 1989-03-01 Charlie Francis, coach of disqualified sprinter Ben Johnson tells federal inquiry into Canada's greatest sports scandal Johnson knowingly used steroids since 1981; Johnson first across line Olympic 100m 1988
• 1991-06-14 Leroy Burrell of USA sets 100m record (9.90) in NYC
• 1991-08-07 American team of Carl Lewis, Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell & Dennis Mitchell set 4 x 100m relay world record of 37.67 seconds in Zürich, Switzerland
• 1991-08-25 Carl Lewis runs 100m in a world record 9.86 seconds
• 1991-09-10 Gail Devers runs US female record 100m hurdles (12.48 secs)
• 1991-09-25 3rd World Championships in Athletics: Carl Lewis wins gold in 100m
• 1992-02-14 American sprinter Andre Cason runs world record 60m indoor (6.41s) in Madrid, Spain
• 1992-08-01 American sprinter Gail Devers wins an incredibly close blanket finish in the women's 100m at the Barcelona Olympics, with 5 athletes within 0.06 seconds of Devers (10.82)
• 1992-08-01 British athlete Linford Christie (32) becomes the oldest man to win an Olympic 100m gold medal edging Frankie Fredericks in Barcelona
• 1994-07-06 Irina Privalova runs 100m European Record (10.77)
• 1994-07-06 Lerou Burrell runs world record 100m (9.85)
• 1996-08-01 French sprinter Marie-José Pérec wins the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics to become only the 2nd athlete to win the 200-400m Olympic double (Valerie Brisco-Hooks 1984)

• 2004-08-21 Belarusian sprinter Yulia Nestsiarenka runs 10.93 to beat American Lauryn Williams and win the 100m gold medal at the Athens Olympics
• 2004-08-21 The Australian women's 4 x 100m medley relay team of Giaan Rooney, Leisel Jones, Petria Thomas & Jodie Henry smashes the world record to take gold in 3:57.32 at the Athens Olympics

• 2004-08-28 A huge upset at the Athens Olympic Stadium in the men's 4×100m relay; Great Britain 38.07 edges the United States 38.08 to take the gold medal
• 2005-06-14 Asafa Powell of Jamaica sets a new Men's 100 meters world record of 9.77 at the Athens Olympic Stadium
• 2005-08-07 American sprinter Justin Gatlin blitzes field to win 100m in 9.88 at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland
• 2007-09-01 Tyson Gay helps US win the men's 4 x 100m relay at the world track & field championships in Osaka, Japan to join Carl Lewis and Maurice Greene as the only men to win 3 gold medals at one world meet
• 2007-10-05 After years of angry denials, triple gold medal winning American sprinter Marion Jones admits she used steroids 2000-01; pleads guilty to lying to federal investigators; announces retirement in tearful apology; medals returned to USOC

• 2008-08-16 Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt sets new world record of 9.69 seconds to win the coveted 100m gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics
• 2008-08-17 Australian women's 4 x 100m medley relay team of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper & Libby Trickett upset the United States to win the gold medal in world record 3:52.69 at the Beijing Olympics
• 2008-08-17 Jamaica dominates the 100m at the Beijing Olympics with Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the gold medal in 10.78; her teammates Sherone Simpson & Kerron Stewart dead-heat for silver in 10.98

• 2008-08-21 After winning the event in Athens, Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown makes it consecutive 200m Olympic titles beating American Allyson Felix by 0.19 in Beijing
• 2008-08-22 The Jamaican team led by Usain Bolt smashes the world 4 x 100m relay record in the final at the Beijing Olympics; disqualified in 2017 as Nesta Carter tests positive for prohibited substance
• 2009-08-16 Usain Bolt of Jamaica edges American Tyson Gay to win 100m in world record 9.58s at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin
• 2011-09-03 Following his disqualification in the 100m, Jamaica's Usain Bolt runs a season best 19.40 to win the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in South Korea

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 168

• 1875-01-15 Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1929)
• 1876-09-11 Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), born in Young, Australia (d. 1924)
• 1878-08-31 Frank Jarvis, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1900), born in California, Pennsylvania (d. 1933)
• 1880-09-14 Archie Hahn, American athlete (Olympic gold 60m, 100m, 200m 1904), born in Dodgeville, Wisconsin (d. 1955)
• 1882-06-09 Robert Kerr, Canadian sprinter (1909 Olympics), born in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland (d. 1963)
• 1889-03-16 Reggie Walker, South African athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1908), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 1951)
• 1896-09-13 Morris Kirksey, American 4 X 100m (Olympic gold 1920), born in Waxahachie, Texas (d. 1981)
• 1897-03-15 Jackson Scholz, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1920, 200m 1924), born in Buchanan, Michigan (d. 1986)
• 1898-04-15 Harry F. V. Edward, British 100m/200m runner (Olympic bronze 1920), born in Berlin (d. 1973)
• 1899-12-15 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (Olympic gold 100m, silver 4x100m 1924; depicted in film "Chariots of Fire"), born in Bedford, England (d. 1978)
• 1900-08-10 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, born in Wanganui, New Zealand (d. 1994)
• 1900-08-11 Charles William Paddock, Texas, American athlete and 100m record breaker (Olympic-2 gold-1920) (d. 1943)
• 1908-01-01 Kinue Hitomi, Japanese athlete (World record women's 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump; Olympic silver 800m 1928), born in Okayama, Japan (d. 1931)
• 1908-05-19 Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (Olympic gold 100m / 200m 1928), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 1982)
• 1908-09-29 Eddie Tolan, American sprinter (2 Golds 1932 Olympics), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1967)
• 1909-08-13 Wilhelmina Von Bremen, American 4X100 relay sprinter (Olympic gold 1932), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1976)

• 1909-10-29 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 1980)
• 1910-05-29 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1978)
• 1911-04-03 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), born in Wierzchownia, Poland (d. 1980)
• 1911-08-23 Elizabeth "Betty" Robinson, US 100m sprinter (Olympic gold 1928), born in Riverdale, Illinois (d. 1999)
• 1913-05-24 Audrey Brown, British 4 X 100m runner (Olympic silver 1936), born in Bankura, India (d. 2005)

• 1913-10-22 Annette Rogers, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1932, 36), born in Chelsea, Massachusetts (d. 2006)
• 1913-11-26 Foy Draper, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1936 WR 39.8s), born in Georgetown, Texas (d. 1943)
• 1918-02-03 Helen Stephens, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m & 4x100m relay 1936), born in Fulton, Missouri (d. 1994)
• 1918-02-25 Barney Ewell, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay, silver 100m, 200m 1948; equal WR 100m 1948), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
• 1918-04-26 Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, 4x100m relay 1948), born in Lage Vuursche, Netherlands (d. 2004)
• 1920-12-08 McDonald Bailey, British-Trinidadian athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1952; 100m WR 10.2s 1951-56), born in Williamsville, Trinidad (d. 2013)
• 1923-07-08 Harrison Dillard, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4×100m relay 1948; 110m hurdles, 4×100m relay 1952), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2019)
• 1923-07-22 Netti Witziers-Timmer, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 4×100m relay 1948), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2005)
• 1924-11-16 Mel Patton, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1948; WR 100 yards 9.2s 1948), born in Los Angeles, California, (d. 2014)
• 1925-07-18 Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1952, 56; 4 x 100m relay 1956), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2004)
• 1927-04-29 Dorothy Manley, English 100m sprinter (Olympic silver 1948), born in London, England
• 1927-10-26 Janet Moreau Stone, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952), born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (d. 2021)
• 1927-12-29 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1952, silver 200m 1956; WR 200m: 20.60 1952), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
• 1930-02-08 Catherine Hardy Lavender, American 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1952), born in Carroll County, Georgia (d. 2017)
• 1931-01-24 Maria Piątkowska, Polish athlete (WR 4 x 100m relay 1964), born in Goleni, Moldova (d. 2020)
• 1931-06-03 Lindy Remigino, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1952), born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York (d. 2018)
• 1931-09-13 Marjorie Jackson, Australian sprinter (Olympic gold 1952) and 33rd Governor of South Australia, born in Coffs Harbour, Australia
• 1932-01-15 Dean Smith, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952) and actor, rodeo cowboy and stuntman, born in Emporia, Kansas (d. 2023)
• 1932-04-10 Mae Faggs, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1952), born in Mays Landing, New Jersey (d. 2000)
• 1932-05-03 Maria Itkina, Russian athlete (9 sprint world records, 60m-400m), born in Roslavl, Russia (d. 2020)
• 1933-04-15 Vera Krepkina, Russian athlete (Olympic gold USSR long jump 1960; WR 4×100m relay 1956, tied WR 100m 11.3s 1958), born in Kotelnich, Russia (d. 2023)
• 1934-07-14 Marlene Matthews, Australian sprinter (Olympics 2 bronze-1956), born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• 1934-09-11 Norma Croker, Australian sprinter, born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2019)
• 1935-10-15 Bobby Morrow, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay 1956), born in Brownsville, Texas (d. 2020)
• 1936-02-13 Leamon King, American athlete, 4X100m relay Olympic gold 1956, born in Tulare California
• 1937-03-22 Armin Hary, German athlete (2 Olympic gold 100m, 4x100m relay 1960), born in Quierschied, Germany
• 1937-03-26 Barbara Jones, American athlete who won Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1952, 60), born in Chicago, Illinois
• 1937-07-31 Isabelle Daniels, American sprinter (Olympic bronze 56), born in Jakin, Georgia (d. 2017)
• 1937-08-10 Lucinda Williams, American sprinter (Olympic gold - 4×100 m relay, 1960), born in Savannah, Georgia

• 1938-06-05 Karin Balzer, German athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1964; bronze 100m hurdles 1972), born in Magdeburg, Germany (d. 2019)
• 1938-07-15 Enrique Figuerola Camue, Cuban 100m runner (Olympic silver 1964), born in Santiago de Cuba
• 1939-03-21 Martha Hudson, American sprinter (Olympic 4X100m gold 1960), born in Eastman, Georgia
• 1939-05-08 Paul Drayton, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1964), born in Glen Cove, New York (d. 2010)
• 1939-12-31 Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), born in Money, Mississippi (d. 2007)

• 1940-09-30 Harry Winston Jerome, Canadian 100m runner (Olympic bronze 1964), born in Sask, Canada
• 1941-05-09 Dorothy Hyman, English athlete (Olympic silver 100m, bronze 200m 1960; bronze 4×100m relay 1964), born in Cudworth, England
• 1942-12-20 Bob Hayes, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4x100m relay 1964) and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver (3 x Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys), born in Jacksonville, Florida (d. 2002)
• 1944-03-21 Charles Edward Greene, Pine Bluff Ark, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1968)
• 1944-06-03 Edith McGuire, US 200m sprinter (Olympic gold 1964)

• 1945-08-29 Wyomia Tyus, American 100m runner (Olympic gold 1964, 68), born in Griffin, Georgia
• 1946-05-24 Irina Szewińska, Polish athlete, administrator (Olympic various sprint gold 1964, 68, 76), born in Leningrad, Russia (d. 2018)

• 1946-10-01 Ewa Klobukowska, Polish athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1964), born in Warsaw, Poland
• 1947-02-14 Heidemarie Rosendahl, German athlete (Olympic gold FRG long jump, 4×100m relay, silver pentathlon 1972), born in Hückeswagen, Germany
• 1947-07-02 Ervin Hall, 100m hurdler (Olympic silver 1968), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 1947-07-28 Miguelina Cobian, Cuban 4x100m runner (Olympic silver 1968), born in Santiago de Cuba
• 1948-04-24 Eddie James Hart, American 4x100m relay runner (Olympic gold 1972), born in Martinez, California
• 1949-03-28 Ronnie Ray Smith, American athlete, 4 X 100m relay runner (Olympic gold 1968), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
• 1949-04-29 Eddie Hart, American 100m runner (Olympics, 1972)
• 1949-10-20 Valery Borzov, Ukrainian sprinter (Olympic gold 1972), born in Sambir, USSR
• 1950-05-12 Renate Stecher-Meissner, German sprinter (3-time Olympic gold 1972, 76), born in Süptitz, Germany
• 1950-06-03 Marlene Elejarde, Cuban athlete 4x100m runner (Olympic silver 1968), born in Havana, Cuba
• 1950-06-18 Annelie Ehrhardt, German athlete (Olympic gold GDR 100m hurdles WR 12.59 1972), born in Hötensleben, Germany
• 1950-08-16 Hasely Crawford, Trinidad, 100m runner (Olympic gold 1976)
• 1950-10-13 Annegret Richter-Irrang, German sprinter (Olympic gold 1972), born in Dortmund, Germany
• 1950-12-31 Inge Helten, German athlete (Olympic silver FRG 4x100m relay, bronze 100m 1976; WR 100m 11.04s 1976), born in Sinzig, Germany
• 1951-06-24 Raelene Boyle, Australian sprinter (Olympic silver 1972)
• 1952-05-03 Allen Wells, Scottish athlete (Olympic 100m gold 1980), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
• 1952-09-05 Graham Salmon, British blind runner (fastest 100m by a blind man) (d. 1999)
• 1952-09-13 Johanna Klier-Schaller, German 100m hurdler (Olympic gold 1976), born in Artern, Bezirk Halle, Germany
• 1954-09-20 Silvio Leonard, Cuban 100m runner (Olympic silver 1980), born in Cienfuegos, Cuba
• 1954-11-04 Aleksandr Aksinin, Russian athlete (Olympic gold, 4×100m relay 1980; bronze 1976), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 2020)
• 1955-03-21 Barbel Wockel-Eckert, German DR, sprinter (Olympic-4 gold-1976, 80)
• 1956-03-25 Sonia M Lannaman, England, 4X100m relayer (Olympic bronze 1980)
• 1956-07-08 Millard Hampton, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1976), born in Fresno, California
• 1957-02-18 Marita Koch, German 400m sprinter (Olympic gold 1980), born in Wismar, Germany
• 1957-03-28 Harvey Glance, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1976; World C'ship gold 4x100m relay 1987), born in Phenix City, Alabama (d. 2023)
• 1957-04-15 Evelyn Ashford, American athlete (4 x Olympic sprint gold 1984, 88, 92), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
• 1957-07-31 Irina Nazariva, Sovet sprinter (USSR 4 X 400m relay Olympic gold 1980)
• 1958-03-21 Marlies Göhr, East German sprinter (Olympic gold 100m relay 1976, 80; World Champion 100m 1983), born in Gera, Germany
• 1958-04-04 Lam Jones, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1976) and NFL wide receiver (NY Jets 1980-86), born in Lawton, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
• 1958-09-28 Angella Issajenko, Jamaica, 4X100m relayer (Olympic silver 1984)

• 1960-01-26 Jeanette Bolden, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m 1984), born in Los Angeles, California

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• 1924-04-01 Stan Rowley, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 5,000m team, bronze 60m, 100m, 200m 1900), dies at 47
• 1929-02-14 Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), dies at 53
• 1931-08-02 Kinue Hitomi, Japanese athlete (World record women's 100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump; Olympic silver 800m 1928), dies from pneumonia at 24
• 1933-06-02 Frank Jarvis, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1900), dies at 54
• 1943-02-01 Foy Draper, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1936 WR 39.8s), dies in action as a USAF pilot at 31
• 1943-07-21 Charles Paddock, American 100m runner (Olympic gold 1920), dies at 42
• 1951-11-05 Reggie Walker, South African athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1908), dies at 62
• 1955-01-21 Archie Hahn, American athlete (Olympic gold 60m, 100m, 200m 1904), dies at 74
• 1967-01-31 Eddie Tolan, American sprinter the "Midnight Express" (1932 Olympics), dies at 58
• 1973-07-08 Harry F. V. Edward, British 100m/200m runner (Olympic bronze 1920), dies at 75
• 1976-07-23 Wilhelmina Von Bremen, American 4X100 relay sprinter (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 64
• 1976-12-29 Ivo van Damme, Belgian 800/1500 m sprinter (Olympic silver 1976), dies at 22
• 1978-01-14 Harold Abrahams, British athlete (Olympic gold 100m, silver 4x100m 1924; depicted in film "Chariots of Fire"), dies at 78
• 1978-10-10 Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete, politician (Rep-D-Ill; joint world record 100m, Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1936), dies of a heart attack at 68
• 1980-01-01 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70

• 1980-12-04 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
• 1981-11-25 Morris Kirksey, American 4 X 100m (Olympic gold 1920), dies at 86
• 1982-11-29 Percy Williams, Canadian athlete (Olympic gold 100m / 200m 1928), dies from self inflicted gunshot wounds at 74
• 1985-06-15 Andy Stanfield, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1952, silver 200m 1956; WR 200m: 20.60 1952), dies at 57
• 1986-10-26 Jackson Scholz, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1920, 200m 1924), dies at 89
• 1994-01-01 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
• 1994-01-17 Helen Stephens, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m & 4x100m relay 1936), dies at 75

• 1996-04-04 Barney Ewell, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay, silver 100m, 200m 1948; equal WR 100m 1948), dies at 78

• 2000-01-27 Mae Faggs, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m 1952), dies from cancer at 67
• 2002-09-18 Bob Hayes, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4x100m relay 1964) and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver (3 x Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys), dies of kidney failure at 59
• 2004-01-25 Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, 4x100m relay 1948), dies at 85
• 2004-02-17 Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1952, 56; 4 x 100m relay 1956), dies at 78
• 2005-01-25 Netti Witziers-Timmer, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 4×100m relay 1948), dies at 81
• 2005-06-11 Audrey Brown, British 4 X 100m runner (Olympic silver 1936), dies at 92
• 2006-11-08 Annette Rogers, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1932, 36), dies at 93
• 2007-02-06 Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
• 2010-03-02 Paul Drayton, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1964), dies from a pulmonary embolism at 70
• 2013-03-22 Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter (200m world record), dies from cancer at 60
• 2013-12-04 McDonald Bailey, British-Trinidadian athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1952; 100m WR 10.2s 1951-56), dies at 92
• 2014-05-09 Mel Patton, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1948; WR 100 yards 9.2s 1948), dies at 89

• 2017-09-08 Catherine Hardy Lavender, American 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 87
• 2017-09-08 Isabelle Daniels, American sprinter (Olympic bronze 56), dies at 80
• 2018-06-29 Irina Szewińska, Polish athlete, administrator (Olympic various sprint gold 1964, 68, 76), dies of cancer at 72
• 2018-07-11 Lindy Remigino, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1952), dies of prostate cancer at 87
• 2019-03-15 Lam Jones, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1976) and NFL wide receiver (NY Jets 1980-86), dies of myeloma at 60
• 2019-08-21 Norma Croker, Australian sprinter (1st Olympic Gold from Queensland), dies at 84
• 2019-11-15 Harrison Dillard, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4×100m relay 1948; 110m hurdles, 4×100m relay 1952), dies at 96
• 2019-12-17 Karin Balzer, German athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1964; bronze 100m hurdles 1972), dies at 81
• 2020-05-30 Bobby Morrow, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay 1956), dies at 84
• 2020-07-28 Aleksandr Aksinin, Russian athlete (Olympic gold, 4×100m relay 1980; bronze 1976), dies at 65
• 2020-12-19 Maria Piątkowska, Polish athlete (WR 4 x 100m relay 1964), dies at 89
• 2021-06-30 Janet Moreau Stone, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952), dies at 93
• 2023-04-25 Vera Krepkina, Russian athlete (Olympic gold USSR long jump 1960; WR 4×100m relay 1956, tied WR 100m 11.3s 1958), dies at 90
• 2023-05-02 Tori Bowie, American athlete (Olympic gold 4×100 m relay, silver 100m, bronze 200m 2016; World C'ship gold 100m, 4x100m relay 2017), dies at 32

• 2023-06-12 Harvey Glance, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1976; World C'ship gold 4x100m relay 1987), dies of a heart attack at 66
• 2023-06-24 Dean Smith, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1952) and actor, rodeo cowboy and stuntman, dies at 91

• Bill Rodgers
• Emil Zátopek
• Grete Waitz
• Ingrid Kristiansen
• John Carlos
• Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce