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Athlete Bio

Willie Steele

Basic Information

Status: Hall of Fame Gender: Male Date of Birth: 6/14/1923

Athletics Information

Event: Outdoor Track & Field Agent: N/A

Residences

Hometown: El Centro, California High School: Herbert Hoover High School (San Diego, CA) College: San Jose State College & San Diego State College

Current Accomplishments

Personal Best

Filter Results

Long Jump

EventPerformance
EventLong JumpPerformance8.07

Recognized as the world's finest men's long jumper of the late 1940s, Willie Steele was the favorite to win at the 1948 Olympic Games. Despite a sore ankle that allowed him only two attempts, both of Steele's jumps were good enough to win the gold over the world's best. A two-time USA Outdoor champion, Steele was the 1948 Olympic Trials champion, a two-time NCAA long jump champion, was considered the world's best long jumper in 1942 and 1946, and was world ranked #1 by Track & Field. Steele died September 19, 1989.

Championships
1948 Olympic Games: Long Jump - 7.82 m (1st)
1948 Olympic Trials: Long Jump - 7.98 m (1st)
1946 AAU Outdoors: Long Jump - 7.32 m (1st)
1947 AAU Outdoors: Long Jump - 7.55 m (1st)
1948 NCAA Outdoors: Long Jump - 7.60 m (1st)
1947 NCAA Outdoors: Long Jump - 8.08 m (1st)

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