Louis Clarke (athlete)

Louis Alfred "Pinky" Clarke (November 23, 1901 – February 24, 1977) was an American chemist and athlete, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 meter relay race at the 1924 Summer Olympics.[1]

This article is about the American runner. For the American automotive engineer, see Louis Semple Clarke.
Louis Clarke
Personal information
Born(1901-11-23)November 23, 1901
Statesville, North Carolina
DiedSeptember 30, 1977(1977-09-30) (aged 75)
Fishkill, New York
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1924 Paris 4x100 m relay

Clarke was Jewish,[2] and was born in Statesville, North Carolina.

IC4A 1923-4

After winning the AAU Junior 220 yard sprint in 1922, Clarke enrolled at Johns Hopkins University and finished second in the 100 yard and third in the 220 yard sprints at the 1923 annual IC4A (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America). In February 1924, he posted a world record of 9.8 seconds for the 100 yard indoors and later in the year placed third on both the 100 and 220 yard sprints at the IC4A.[3]

NCAA 1923

He won the NCAA 100 yd (91 m) championships in 1923 while a student at Johns Hopkins. [3]

Olympic gold medal

At the Paris Olympics, Clarke ran the second leg in the American 4 × 100 meter relay team, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 41.0 seconds.[2][3]

Clarke also held the world indoor 100 yard record, at 9.8 seconds, in February 1924.[4][3]

He began work with the Texaco Company shortly after college, and retired in 1966 as a chemist and patent liasion for Texaco where he had been employed for over forty years. He was a member of the American Chemical Society.[5]

Clarke died at Vassar Hospital in Fishkill, New York on February 24, 1977, at the age of 75. He was buried at Fishkill Rural Cemetary, and was survived by his widow Olive, a son, and two grandchildren.[5]

In 1994, he was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Louis Clarke". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  2. Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics : with a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medallists. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781903900871.
  3. "Olympics.com, Louis Clarke". Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  4. "A Salute to the Olympians of the Mason Dixon Conference". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  5. "Obituraries, Louis Clarke", Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York, pg. 3, 25 February 1977
  6. "Louis Clarke". Johns Hopkins Athletics Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2021.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.