Forrest Grady "Spec" Towns (February 6, 1914 – April 9, 1991) was an American track and field athlete. He was the 1936 Olympic champion in the 110 m

hurdles 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, ...

and broke the world record in that event three times. Born in

Fitzgerald, Georgia Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 9,053. It is the principal city of the Fitzgerald Micropolitan Statistical A ...

, Towns grew up in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in high school at Richmond Academy. In 1933, he earned a football scholarship to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA) after a sports journalist had seen him

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

ing in his backyard. Rather than high jumping, Towns specialized in the high hurdles, winning

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and AAU titles in the 120 y hurdles event in 1935. It was the beginning of a 60 race winning streak, lasting until 1937. In 1936, Towns was named to the American Olympic team, becoming the first

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n to achieve this. During the Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Towns became the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder with 14.1, and he won the Olympic gold in 14.2. Also, he became the first Georgian to earn Olympic Gold. Shortly after the Games, he became the first hurdler under 14 seconds. At a race in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, he dramatically improved the world record to 13.7 – a time that would stand until 1950. After college, Towns became Head Track and Field coach at UGA, a position he held until 1975. In 1991, he died of a heart attack in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

at age 77. He was honored at the University with the naming of the

Spec Towns Track Spec Towns Track is the track and field facility and stadium for the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. The track was originally built in 1964 and the stadium grandstand was added in 1987 to accommodate 1,000 spectators. In 2011, the ...

, and an annual meet called the Spec Towns Invitational. Towns was the official starter for the first-ever

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled because of the COVID pand ...

on July 4, 1970.

References

External links

Extensive biography

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame profile

Forrest “Spec” Towns
at the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Induc ...

* 1914 births 1991 deaths American male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Georgia Bulldogs track and field athletes Georgia Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs track and field coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches People from Fitzgerald, Georgia Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Georgia Bulldogs football players {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References

External links