Hall of Fame

Charley Paddock

Track and Field

Olympian in Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, Paris 1924 Olympic Games, Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games

Born:
August 11, 1900
Birthplace:
Gainesville, Texas
Hometown:
Pasadena, California
Died:
July 21, 1943
College:
University of Southern California

hall of fame

Charley Paddock

Track and Field

Olympian in Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, Paris 1924 Olympic Games, Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games

Born:
August 11, 1900
Birthplace:
Gainesville, Texas
Hometown:
Pasadena, California
Died:
July 21, 1943
College:
University of Southern California
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War I, Charley Paddock participated in three Olympic Games, winning two gold medals and two silver. He died in a plane crash while serving in World War II.
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After serving in the U.S. Army Field Artillery during World War I, Charley Paddock competed in the 1919 Inter-Allied Games in Paris, where he won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and was nicknamed “the fastest man alive.”

Paddock returned to the United States and enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he was a member of the track and field team. One year later, he was back in Europe for the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, where he sped to gold in the 100-meter dash, flinging his arms wide and jumping across the finish line. He also won gold in the 4×100-meter relay and silver in the 200-meter dash.

Four years later, Paddock repeated his silver in the 200 at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games – his performance there was the basis for the movie Chariots of Fire. Paddock also made the U.S. Olympic Team that competed in the Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games.

Paddock had a career as a newspaper editor and publisher and went back into the military, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Paddock was a top aide to USMC Maj. Gen. W.P. Upshur. The two men and four others were killed in a plane crash near Sitka, Alaska, in 1943. Paddock was 42 years old.



MEDAL RESULTS
1920Antwerp100mGold
1920Antwerp4x100m RelayGold
1920Antwerp200mSilver
1924Paris200mSilver

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