Dudley Griffin Wilkins (November 11, 1914 – February 1989) was an American

triple jumper The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. He was United States champion in 1934 and placed eighth at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Biography

Wilkins was born in Crowley, Louisiana on November 11, 1914. He won the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) national triple jump championship in 1934 with a jump of 48 ft in (14.69 m). At the 1936 Olympic Trials Wilkins placed second with 49 ft in (14.97 m), qualifying for the American team together with

Rolland Romero Rolland Lee Romero (August 21, 1914 – November 25, 1975) was an American triple jumper. He was national champion in 1935 and competed in the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography Romero was born in Welsh, Louisiana on August 21, 1914. At W ...

and Billy Brown; all three were from Louisiana, which had been America's leading triple jump state since the late 1920s. At the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Wilkins placed eighth, reaching 14.83 m (48 ft in) in both the first and the third round and fouling in round two; he did not qualify for the last three rounds. Wilkins set his personal best, 49 ft 9 in (15.16 m), in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

on May 4, 1935. He died in Crowley in February 1989.

References

1914 births 1989 deaths People from Crowley, Louisiana American male triple jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States {{US-triplejump-athletics-bio-stub