Charles "Charlie" Craig (born October 17, 1942) is an American track and field coach and former triple jumper. He was the gold medalist at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

and was an American champion both indoors and outdoors. Craig attended California State University, Fresno, eventually gaining a master's degree there. As a student-athlete, he competed for the Fresno State Bulldogs track team and was among their leading men in jumps and sprints. He was a key part of the Bulldog's 1964 team that won the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Fresno's first). He broke the American collegiate record for the triple jump and won that title at the NCAA Championships. His jump of defeated all comers, although due to wind-assistance it was not ratified as a collegiate record (being an improvement of more than 15 inches on any previous mark). He competed at the

United States Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. These events include: * United States Olympic Trials (curling) * United States Olympic Trials (d ...

in the year of his NCAA victory and placed fifth overall. Moving on from the college circuit, he placed third nationally at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 1965 and 1966 before finally taking his first American title at the 1967 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.Charles Craig
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-03-19. This brought him selection for that season's

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

held in Winnipeg and his best jump of (wind assisted, but only two centimetres short of

Adhemar da Silva Adhemar Ferreira da Silva (September 29, 1927 – January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian triple jumper. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games. In his early career he also ...

's games record) was enough hold off Brazil's

Nelson Prudencio Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and win the gold medal. This made him the second American to win that title, following in the footsteps of the previous champion, Bill Sharpe. In his last year of competition, he won at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a meet record of (a personal record) and then placed third at the USA Outdoors. He began his coaching career as an assistant to Sam Bell for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

at the University of California, Berkeley. He was recruited by California State University, Bakersfield in 1971 and a year later became head coach for an entirely new track and field program. He led the program to success in NCAA Division II competition, coaching 18 national champions and winning the honour of 2002 NCAA Division II Track and Field Coach of the Year. He also took on roles in the national professional team, being assistant coach for both the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

and the

1996 Atlanta Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He was inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame in 2008 for his achievements in building the

Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (also known as CSUB Roadrunners, and sometimes as the Bakersfield Roadrunners) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the California State University, Bakersfield, located in Bakersfield, Califor ...

track team. He was head coach for the Roadrunners for over thirty years. In 1991, Craig was inducted into the

Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

National titles

* USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships **Triple jump: 1967USA Championships (Men 1943–)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-19. * USA Indoor Track and Field Championships **Triple jump: 1968USA Indoor Championships (Men)
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-19. * NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships ** Triple jump: 1964NCAA Division I Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Charles Living people 1942 births American male triple jumpers California Golden Bears track and field coaches Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Fresno State Bulldogs men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from California Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games