Dewey Lee Yoder Jr (July 18, 1930 – May 17, 2023) was an American

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, known as Lee Yoder. Yoder attended

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...

as a youth, where he trained under

Jimmy Curran James Michael Curran (January 7, 1880 – February 7, 1963) was an athletics coach, best known for training five Olympic gold medallists. From 1900-1902 he fought with the Highland Light Infantry in the Second Boer War, serving much of that time u ...

. He came second in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1952 US Olympic trials, beaten only by eventual gold medalist Charles Moore (also from Mercersburg). He competed in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. Running for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, Yoder finished second at the 1952 NCAA Track and Field Championships behind Bob Diviney from Kansas. Yoder later played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, including as part of the bronze medal winning American team 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 ...

. He was manager for the United States field hockey team at the 1984 Olympics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoder, Lee 1930 births 2023 deaths Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Mercersburg Academy alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics American male hurdlers Olympic track and field athletes for the United States American male field hockey players Track and field athletes from Philadelphia Olympic coaches for the United States Field hockey players at the 1967 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in field hockey Penn Quakers men's track and field athletes