Charles Decker Reidpath (September 20, 1889 – October 21, 1975) was an American track and field

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er and winner of two gold medals at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

, who later went on to have an outstanding military career.

Biography

Born in Buffalo, New York, and a graduate of that city's Lafayette High School, Reidpath became a collegiate track star at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, winning the 220 yd (201 m) and 440 yd (402 m) dashes in the 1912 intercollegiate games. On graduating from Syracuse in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering, Reidpath was pressured by relatives to quit sports and take a position with the family business in Buffalo. Instead, he made the U.S. Olympic track team, and headed to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Reidpath won the 400 m in an Olympic record shattering time of 48.2 seconds, a mark also ratified as a world record. Running the anchor leg of the 4 × 400 m relay, Reidpath helped the U.S. team set a world record of 3:16.6. In the 200 metres competition he finished fifth. Reidpath was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army who served in England, France and Belgium in the Transportation Corps during World War II, winning battle stars for the Northern France and

Rheinland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

campaigns. In Belgium he was made

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for his services at the vital port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 1944 and 1945. Reidpath was made a Brigadier General when he retired from the

New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...

in 1948. He is a member of the Lafayette High School Sports Hall of fame. Away from sports and the military, Reidpath worked for the Berdencer construction company from 1912 through 1937, when he was named director of buildings for Buffalo. For 15 years he worked in the city department of public works, and in 1956 helped build the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Buffalo Branch as superintendent of construction for architects. He died in Kenmore, New York, in 1975.

References

External links

Charles Reidpath, Olympic Champion by Tim Evans
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reidpath, Charles 1889 births 1975 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Syracuse Orange men's track and field athletes United States Army personnel of World War II National Guard (United States) generals Track and field athletes from Buffalo, New York Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni New York National Guard personnel