Harold Osborn

Harold Osborn 1924

athletics
gold	1924	Decathlon
gold	1924	high jump

Harold Osborn (born April 13, 1899 in Butler , Illinois , † April 5, 1975 in Champaign , Illinois) was an American athlete who was successful in the decathlon and high jump in the 1920s . He set two world records and was a two-time Olympic champion in 1924 .

Career

It rose from 1.83 m to 1.99 m in the years 1920 to 1923, after having topped the world's best of the year with 1.98 m in 1922. A year later (1924) he improved the world record twice in an Olympic preparation competition in Urbana , Illinois : 2.0258 m in the first attempt and 2.038 m in the second attempt.

Osborn is the only decathlon Olympic champion who could also win a gold medal in an individual competition. He is also the only decathlon world record holder who also held the world record in a single discipline. He achieved his decathlon world record with 7710.295 points at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris , where he also won the high jump with 1.98 m (he failed at the 2.02 m that was subsequently placed). In the following year, 1925, he made six jumps over 2 meters, four of which were on a European tour. His best performance was a skipped 2.0559 m, which could not be recognized as a world record because he had achieved it in an exhibition match. In 1925 he was also AAU champion in high jump and decathlon, where he came to 7689.45 points. In the high jump from standing he reached a remarkable 1.67 m.

Osborn was known for his "slat trick": When crossing the slat, he pressed it against the holder so that it could not fall off when touched lightly. The world association finally introduced a new regulation, according to which the bar had to be set in such a way that it could fall forwards and backwards.

Services

• National championships high jump / decathlon
  • 1922 ( NCAA ): 1,895 m
  • 1925 ( AAU ): 2.00 m / 7706.36 pts.
  • 1926 (AAU): 1.94 m / 7187.832 pts.

• Olympic games
  • 1924 in Paris :

    Gold in the decathlon with 7711 points (today's rating: 6476 points) ahead of his compatriot Emerson Norton with 7351 (6117) points and the Estonian Aleksander Klumberg-Kolmpere with 7323 (6056) points.

    Gold in the high jump with 1.98 m in front of his compatriot Leroy Brown with 1.95 m and the French Pierre Lewden with 1.92 m

  • 1928 in Amsterdam :

    Fifth in the high jump with 1.91 m (height of the winner Bob King (USA): 1.94 m)

• World records
  • High jump: 2.02 m on May 27, 1924 in Urbana
  • Decathlon: 7711 (6476) points at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris

Harold Osborn was a specialist in osteopathy . He was married to the high jump Olympic champion Ethel Catherwood from Canada.

Web links

• http://www.weltrekordler.de/hj03.htm
• http://www.usatf.org/athletes/hof/osborn.asp
• http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=125
• Harold Osborn in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )