Ollan Cassell

Ollan Conley "Conn" Cassell (born October 5, 1937 in Nickelsville , Virginia ) is a former American athlete who was successful as a sprinter in the early 1960s . He ran a world record and won three gold medals.

He was twice victorious at state championships:

• 1957: 220 yds MASTER in 21.0 s. He owed this title win to the curious fact that due to inaccuracies in the measurement of the lanes, each of the finalists ran a different lane length and his was the shortest - the runner who came second at the same time had to run 2 2/3 yards more.
• 1964: 400 m 3rd place in 46.3 s
• 1965: 440 yds MASTER in 46.1 s

Cassell attended Appalachia High School in Virginia and then the University of Houston .

He had his first international success in 1963 when he strengthened the US relay at the Pan American Games in São Paulo both over 4 x 100 meters and 4 x 400 meters and won two gold medals (victory times : 40, 40 s before Venezuela in 40.71 s or 3: 09.62 min also before Venezuela in 3: 12.20 min). As a single runner, he won silver over 200 meters between two simultaneous Venezuelans in 21.23 seconds and came in sixth over 100 meters.

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 , he took part in the individual race over 400 meters and made it to the semifinals. He then won his third gold medal with the US season. The season, with Ollan Cassell as the starting runner, Mike Larrabee , Ulis Williams and Henry Carr , hit the existing world record of 3: 02.2 min, set four years earlier at the Rome Games by Jack Yerman , Earl Young , Glenn Davis and Otis Davis , on 3: 00.7 min. It lasted until 1966, when another US team broke the 3-minute barrier for the first time (2: 59.6 min).

After completing his career, Ollan Cassell entered the service of the American Athletics Association AAU , for which he was managing director from 1970 to 1997. He was also Vice President of the IAAF for ten years, from 1976 to 1986 . Today he is President of the Indiana Olympian Association and Professor of Olympic Sports History at the University of Indianapolis .

Web links

• Ollan Cassell, USA Track & Field Hall of Fame