Arnold Milton Sowell (born April 6, 1935) is a former middle distance

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, who represented his native country at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

. He finished fourth in the Men's 800-meter race.

Life

The son of a Pittsburgh city council maintenance man, Sowell was a 1953 graduate of

Schenley High School Schenley High School, located in the North Oakland neighborhood at the edge of the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a historic building opened in 1916 that was a part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The Schenley High School building ...

. As a student at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, he became a prize-winning athlete while a member of the

Pitt Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

track and field team, taking the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's 880-yard titles in 1954 and 1956. In 1956, he also won the annual Charles C. Hartwig award. After leaving college with a business degree in 1957, he married fellow Pitt graduate, Barbara Peace, who had earned her degree in arts and sciences. He then embarked on a career in the military. Sowell's admittance in 1957 to the

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

United States Army Training School as a second lieutenant was viewed as newsworthy at the time. He continued his running career into 1959 as a representative of the army, and competed on the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

team. In 1980, he retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the military, Sowell worked as a procurement director for the Charlotte (North Carolina) Housing Authority.

Legacy

Sowell has never been forgotten as a famous alumnus of Pitt and as a distinguished member of the African-American community. He has received accolades from the African American Alumni Council (AAAC) and the 1996 Award of Distinction by the Varsity Letter Club. In 2007, Sowell was one of the guests of honor at a celebration of fellow Olympian and Pitt alumnus Herb Douglas on his 85th birthday at a celebration at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

Athletic achievements

Sowell is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 800-meter event during the

1955 Pan American Games The 1955 Pan American Games opened on March 12, 1955, in the University Stadium (now Olympic Stadium) in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators. A total number of 2,583 athletes from 22 nations marched in review ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Sowell also set the world indoor record for the 880-yard run in 1957 at 1:50.3 and tied the world record for the 1,000 yards of 2:08.2 in 1955. He was recognized as a very versatile and talented runner who could run a variety of distances, and even hurdle and long jump. One track coach,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

's George Eastment, described him as the "greatest runner I ever saw"; another, Carl Olson, felt he could break the four-minute mile. During his career, he had a particular rivalry with his fellow countryman and middle-distance runner,

Tom Courtney Thomas "Tom" William Courtney (born August 17, 1933) is a retired American athlete, winner of two gold medals in the 1956 Olympic Games Tom Courtney came into national prominence while a student at Fordham University, winning the 1955 NCAA 88 ...

, the two swapping victories and being involved in many memorable duels. One duel was the 1956 Olympic trials where Courtney held off Sowell to finish first and second with Courtney in the process breaking Sowell's USA record (of 1:46.7) that he had achieved at that year's NCAA meet. During the Olympic final itself, Sowell led from the back straight of the first lap right up to the final turn of the final lap where he was passed by Courtney. As they entered the final straight, Coutney now ahead had his own battle with Derek Johnson who had also passed Sowell, but Sowell had to contend with the challenge of

Audun Boysen Audun Boysen (10 May 1929 – 2 March 2000) was a Norwegian middle distance runner. Born in Bjarkøy and raised in Rissa, he first represented Rissa IL and later IK Tjalve in Oslo. Boysen was a prominent 800 metre runner in the 1950s, an ...

. Courtney won his battle with Johnson and finished first, but Sowell lost his and finished fourth. Sowell was an excellent runner, indoors as well as outdoors, winning four NCAA titles and establishing a world record 1:50.3 for 880 yards. In 1956, Sowell was a member of teams that set world records in the 4 x 440y and 4 x 880y relays.

Rankings

Sowell was ranked among the best in the United States and the world at 800 metres/880 yards from 1954 to 1957, according to the votes of the experts of ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...

''.

USA Championships

Sowell was a very successful competitor at 800 metres/880 yards at the USA National Track and Field Championships between 1955 and 1958.:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowell, Arnie 1935 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States University of Pittsburgh alumni Pittsburgh Panthers men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games