The "World's Fastest Human" in the early 1920s, Charley Paddock was noted for his unusual finishing style of leaping at the tape. But there was more to Paddock than his finish, as evidenced by his world records and his three gold medals. Paddock first came to international attention when he won the 100 and 200m dashes at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games in Paris following World War I. Under the coaching of Hall of Famer Dean Cromwell, he flourished at the University of Southern California, setting world records of 10.4 in the 100m dash and 21.0 for the 200 meters. He competed in three Olympic Games, starting in 1920 when he won gold medals in the 100m dash and 4x100m relay and was second in the 200m dash. In 1924, he again ran on the winning sprint relay team after taking fifth in the 100 and second in the 200. He later competed in the 1928 Games but failed to qualify for the finals of the 200. Paddock also won five National AAU sprint titles, three of them in the 220-yard dash. He also set several records in unofficial events such as 110 yards, 135 yards, and 250 meters. Later a movie actor, he died in a plane crash in World War II while serving in the Marines.
World Record: 100 m - 10.40 (April 23, 1921 - ) World Record: 200 m - 21.00
1920 Olympics: 100 m (1st) 1920 Olympics: 200 m (2nd) 1920 Olympics: 400 m relay (1st) 1924 Olympics: 100 m (5th) 1924 Olympics: 200 m (2nd) 1924 Olympics: 400 m relay (1st)
Actor Newspaper manager