Because Champions Understand Weltkasse

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Sunday) to two Olympic champions who both competed in only one Olympic Games and who both competed in the same two events.

One of our birthday people was 32 years old when the other birthday person was born.

Neither athlete competed in the Olympic hurdles.

These two champions were born approximately 98 miles (157 kms) from each other in the same nation.

Both these individuals won Olympic gold medals with a world record.

The older of the two athletes died at the age of 56 in the same city where the younger champion won an Olympic gold medal.

Our birthday athletes have a combined 192 years today since their births.

You might be interested to know that one of these Olympians is 80 years old today.

By now, I assume you must know the names of our birthday champions on this penultimate Sunday of October.

Please name our birthday champions without using any kind of research except your wonderful brain.

[Davidokun]

I guess the younger is Ulis Williams.

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 80th birthday today to Ulis Williams. Nice going, Davidokun.

Ulis Williams was one of my favorite track stars from the early 1960's. He was born in Mississippi, went to Arizona State University, and made the 1964 U.S. Olympic team after finishing in second place in the 400 (45.0) at the 1964 U.S. Olympic Trials in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Mike Larrabee tied the world record (44.9) when he won that 400.

Williams placed fifth in the Tokyo 400 (46.0) and then ran the third leg (45.4) on the winning four by 400 relay team that set a new world record of 3:00.7. Ulis Williams won that Olympic gold medal just three days before his 23rd birthday.

Ulis Williams would go on to have a very distinguished career in the academic world at Compton College (he became the president).

Thank you, Davidokun.

[dukehjsteve]

Bill Carr for the older. 32 OG wr 46.2

[DoubleRBar]

Bill Carr was born 112 years ago today in Arkansas. Excellent job, dukehjsteve.

Bill Carr ran the same two events at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (1932) that Ulis Williams would run in Tokyo some 32 years later.

Carr set a world record of 46.2 (as noted by dukehjsteve) in winning the Los Angeles 400, running in lane four. He beat Ben Eastman (46.4), who took the Olympic silver medal in the Coliseum.

Two days later, Bill Carr anchored the winning American four by 400 relay with his 46.2 (fastest split of anyone in the race). The Americans set a new world record at 3:08.2. This was the first time a relay team had gone under 3:10.

The other three Americans, running before Carr, were Ivan Fuqua (Indiana University) at 47.1, Edgar Abiowich (USC) ran 47.6, and Karl Warner (Yale) clocked 47.3. The U.S. had run 3:11.8 in the heats, which was faster than the listed world record of 3:14.2, so the final left little doubt as to which team would win the gold medal.

Great Britain ran 3:11.2 for the silver and Canada ran 3:12.8 for the bronze medal.

Bill Carr was involved in a bad automobile accident about eight months after winning his two Olympic gold medals. He broke both ankles and suffered with back pain for several months after the accident. That accident essentially ended his running career.

He was in Tokyo, Japan in January of 1966, on vacation, when he suffered a heart attack and died in Japan at the age of 56 (same age Abraham Lincoln died).

Thank you, dukehjsteve.