LeRoy T. Walker

LeRoy Tashreau Walker (born June 14, 1918 in Atlanta , Georgia , † April 23, 2012 in Durham , North Carolina ) was an American coach and sports official. From 1992 to 1996 he was the first African American President of the United States Olympic Committee . In 1996 he was the sports director of the Atlanta Summer Olympics .

Life

After high school in Atlanta, Walker studied with a scholarship in athletics, football and basketball at the black Benedict College in Columbia , South Carolina (BA in physical exercise ) and at Columbia University in New York (MA '1945). He now became the athletic trainer of Benetict College and studied at the same time at New York University , where he received his doctorate in biomechanics in 1957 . In 1945 he moved to North Carolina Central University , where he was an athletic trainer and also director of the Institute for Physical Education. After receiving his doctorate, he got the rank of professor . Athletes trained by him always took part in the Olympic Games from 1956 . The first was double Olympic gold medalist Lee Calhoun . Although he was one of the most successful athletics coaches in the USA, for a long time, due to the widespread racism, only his athletes were mentioned, never him. From 1983 to 1983 he was the Chancellor of his North Carolina Central University. The athletes he trained had won 11 Olympic gold medals, 35 national championships, and 80 made it to American national teams. From 1984 to 1988 he was the treasurer, from 1992 to 1996 the president of the United States Olympic Committee . From 1984 to 1988 he was also President of the American Athletics Federation, USA Track & Field . He worked in development aid for the American government as a track and field trainer in Israel and Ethiopia (1960), Trinidad and Tobago (1964), Jamaica (1968) and Kenya (1972).

Honors

He was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ LeRoy T. Walker, a Pioneer of US Olympics, Dies at 93 , New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
2. ^ Arnd Krüger : American sport between isolationism and internationalism. Competitive sport. 18: 1, pp. 43-47 (1988) ; 2, pp. 47-50 . 17th January 2017

literature

• Biography - An Olympic Journey: The Saga of an American Hero: LeRoy T. Walker by Charles Gaddy - Griffin Publishing Group (1998)
• Ebony. Introducing: Dr. LeRoy T. Walker, USOC president- United States Olympic Committee. LeRoy T. Walker. June 1994.