Clancy Edwards (born August 9, 1955) is a retired

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

sprinter 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 ...

. He was considered one of the best sprinters in the world between 1974 and 1978. He won the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

at the 1977 IAAF World Cup, the most important meet of that year, defeating future World Record holder Pietro Mennea. While in high school, he ran for

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Original members of the surf band The Chantays * Barry Asher, professional bowler * To ...

His 21.32 (converted from a hand time of 21.2) for 220 yards winning the 1973 CIF California State Meet was the best time in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

for twelve years. He was also 2nd in the 100-yard dash. Edwards began his collegiate career at Cal Poly in 1974, running for their track team, the

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-one teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West ...

(where he won titles under the tutelage of coach Steve Simmons), and

Santa Ana Junior College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

in 1975. He left there citing personal problems and missed a year of college in 1976. He also missed out on the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

because of injury. In 1977 he transferred as a junior to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC). While at USC he was one of the best sprinters in the world, helping them to the Pac-8 collegiate championship. He was ranked (see below) in the American top ten at 200 metres five times between 1974 and 1979 including #1 in 1977 and 1978. Worldwide those rankings were not much different, ranking #1 in 1978 and #3 in 1977 behind Mennea and Olympic Champion

Don Quarrie Donald O'Riley Quarrie CD (born 25 February 1951) is a Jamaican former track and field athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s. At the 1976 Summer Olympics he was the gold medallist in the Olympic 200 meters and silver med ...

. And he was #2 worldwide in 1978 at 100 metres. Edwards' fastest time over 100 metres was 10.07 seconds, set at Eugene in June 1978. In that year, Edwards achieved the remarkable 'double-double' of winning the 100 and 200 m events at both the NCAA (United States collegiate) and AAU (United States National) Championships. He was the first to do this since

Hal Davis Harold Edward Davis (February 8, 1933 – November 18, 1998) was an American songwriter and record producer. Davis was a producer and writer for Motown Records for nearly thirty years, and was a key figure in the latter part of the Mot ...

in 1943. That same year he also recorded the world's best year performance in the men's 200 metres at the dual meet against cross-town rival

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

, clocking 20.03 on April 29, 1978. In both 1977 and 1978 he was awarded the Pac-10 Track athlete of the year. Also in 1978, Edwards ran the anchor leg of a University of Southern California team (with Joel Andrews, James Sanford and William Mullins) that broke the world record in 4 × 200 m relay event with a time of 1.20.26 at

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

on 27 May. They broke the record even though they came second in the race. The team that won from the Tobias Striders track team was multi-national and so was not eligible to hold the record (that team of

Guy Abrahams Guy Antonio Abrahams (born 7 March 1953) is a Panamanian athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics finishing 5th in the 100 metres. Abrahams studied and competed for the University ...

, Michael Simmons,

and James Gilkes recorded a time of 1.20.23.) Injury ruined his 1979 season. The following year, the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympics meant he lacked the motivation to re-find his best form and to carry on with his track career post-1980 onto the next Olympics.

Track and field rankings

Edwards was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 yard/100 metre and 200 yard/200 metre sprint events in the period 1974-79, 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 ...

''.

References

External links

1978 Year Rankings

1975 Pan American 4 x 100 metres relay final

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Clancy 1955 births Living people American male sprinters Track and field athletes from Phoenix, Arizona Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California Track and field athletes from California Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for the United States USC Trojans men's track and field athletes USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games

Track and field rankings

See also

References

External links