Lou Jones

Lou Jones (actually: Louis Woodard Jones, III ; born January 15, 1932 in New Rochelle , New York , † February 3, 2006 in New York , NY ) was an American sprinter . He improved the world record over 400 meters twice and in 1956 was Olympic champion with the US team in the 4 x 400 meter relay .

Already as a student at New Rochelle High School, Jones was known as an above-average runner. Following high school, he attended Manhattan College in the Bronx and completed his education with a master's degree from Columbia University's Teachers College .

During his military service, he qualified for the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City. There he set a new world record in the 400 meter race with 45.4 seconds and improved George Rhoden's five-year-old mark by four tenths of a second. He won his second gold medal over 4 x 400 meters with the US relay.

Four months before the 1956 Olympic Games , Jones improved his own best time by another two tenths of a second to 45.2 s in the Olympic eliminations and traveled to Melbourne as a favorite. In the Olympic final he could not meet the high expectations placed on him and was only fifth 1.3 seconds behind his compatriot Charles Jenkins . He was able to compensate for this disappointment with the Olympic victory as a member of the US team in the 4 x 400 meter relay.

After finishing his athletic career, he worked as a teacher in New York and Westchester Counties. He died of cardiac arrest on February 3, 2006 at the age of 74.

Web links

• Lou Jones, 74, Sprinting Star, Dies , Richard Goldstein's obituary in the New York Times , February 8, 2006
• Lou Jones in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )