Oil

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Saturday) to an Olympic champion who died two weeks before turning 80. Our birthday athlete was born 108 years ago today.

This champion did not win Olympic gold in the hurdles, however the Olympic gold medal won by our birthday person did come with a world record.

Only 22 years old when winning that Olympic gold medal, this athlete died less than 90 miles from this person's place of birth.

You might know that an Olympic champion from four years before our birthday athlete's Olympics graduated from the same school as did our birthday person.

These two athletes (birthday athlete and champion from four years before our birthday person) won Olympic gold medals in different events.

The athlete born on this day competed in only one Olympic Games and was born in the same continent in which this individual won the Olympic gold medal.

Do you think you might know the name of this Olympic gold medalist? I could give it away with another clue, but I won't.

Please name this birthday athlete for this first Saturday of June.

[Per Andersen]

Bill Carr

[DoubleRBar]

Bill Carr is a very good guess, Per Andersen, but incorrect. Carr and our mystery athlete both won gold medals at the same Olympic Games, however Carr won twice as many gold medals as did our birthday athlete. Carr was also a little older than our birthday athlete and died at a much younger age than our birthday person. Carr and our birthday champion won gold medals in a similar event, but not the same event.

[catson52]

Bill Carr is a very good guess, Per Andersen, but incorrect. Carr and our mystery athlete both won gold medals at the same Olympic Games, however Carr won twice as many gold medals as did our birthday athlete. Carr was also a little older than our birthday athlete and died at a much younger age than our birthday person. Carr and our birthday champion won gold medals in a similar event, but not the same event.

Must have been a member of the 4 X 100 m relay team. My knowledge is not detailed enough to even know who ran in it. I seem to recall that due to the "rules" used by the US, neither Tolan nor Metcalfe were on the final winning team.

[DoubleRBar]

It is true that neither Eddie Tolan nor Ralph Metcalfe ran on the winning four by 100 relay team in Los Angeles and you are right about the answer being someone who ran on this gold medal team. Good job, catson52.

I can help by saying that this runner ran the same leg as did Calvin Smith almost 52 years to the day after our birthday athlete ran his leg. Both U.S. teams set world records in the same stadium (L.A. Coliseum). Our mystery person ran on August 7, 1932 and Calvin Smith ran his leg on August 11, 1984. This birthday athlete has 7 letters in his first and last name combined and Calvin Smith has 11 combined letters in his first and last name. Believe it or not, however there is a 7-11 store not too far from the Coliseum.

Who ran this third leg in 1932, just three months before FDR was elected president of the United States?

One more hint: Our birthday athlete graduated from the same school as did the president of the United States who was in office during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

[LopenUupunut]

Hec Dyer of Stanford? (Bob King went to Stanford.)

[DoubleRBar]

Hec Dyer of Stanford it is, LopenUupunut. Very good. Hec Dyer was born 108 years ago yesterday (Saturday). On the first Sunday of August in 1932, Hec Dyer received the baton from Emmett Toppino (went to Loyola). Toppino had just finished his second leg of the four by 100 relay at the Los Angeles Olympics. Robert Kiesel (Cal) started things off for the Americans with a strong first leg. As Dyer was finishing his third leg, anchor man Frank Wykoff (USC) took the baton and finished in 40.0 - a new world record. Wykoff had run the first leg four years before in Amsterdam and would go on to run another good anchor leg four years after Los Angeles in Berlin, Germany. Three Olympic relay gold medals for Frank Wykoff. Three of the four runners on the winning four by 100 relay in Los Angeles came from current Pac-12 schools. Nice job LopenUupunut.