Ivory Crockett (born August 24, 1948) is a retired American sprinter who, for a time, was "the world's fastest man" when he broke the world record for the

100-yard dash 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

in 1974.

Career

Crockett was born in Halls,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, where his father was a sharecropper. His family moved to Missouri when Crockett was a young boy. Crockett was a track star from his time at high school in

Webster Groves Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

in St. Louis County, Missouri. In 1968 as a senior he ran the second fastest time that year by a high-school student. He was recruited to

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in Carbondale, Illinois, where he competed successfully on their track team, including becoming twice USA champion in the 100 yards sprint, in 1969 and 1970. In 1974, he ran the fastest

with manual timing of 9.0 seconds, a record he still holds. This was deemed at the time by the ''

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'' as "Immortality in 9 Seconds Flat", and he was quickly tagged with the title ''the world's fastest man'' by ''

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 ...

'' who put him on their June 1974 cover. Crockett never ran in the Olympics for the USA having been eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 1972 USA Olympics trials and the quarter-finals of the 1976 trials.Richard Hymans (2008
The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field
. USA Track & Field, 2008 After college, he moved back to Webster Groves where he had attended Brentwood and

Webster Groves High School Webster Groves High School is a public secondary school in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It is located at 100 Selma Ave, Webster Groves, MO. The school is part of the Webster Groves School District and its current principal is Matt Irvi ...

. His local community recognised his achievements by naming a park in his honour, 'Ivory Crockett Park'. As a gift to his local community, Crockett started in 2004 'The Ivory Crockett Run "4" Webster', a fun walk/run. Some people questioned his winning of his national titles because rivals were missing, and demeaned the legitimacy of his world record. This rankled because he was married and had had to battle financial tough times to keep on running.Pat Putnam (June 3, 1974
"Gold To Ivory... For sprinter Ivory Crockett, the unappreciated world-record holder..."
''Sports Illustrated''. Retrieved February 25, 2012. Crockett became an administrator and director of business development for the College of Nursing at Forest Park Hospital in St Louis, Missouri.

World rankings

Crockett was voted to be ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 m sprint event in the period from 1969 to 1974, according to ''

''. He was also voted to be ranked 10th in the US and 4th in the world in the 200 m sprint in 1973.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120130022720/http://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/special-articles/131, Track and Field News Cover, I June 1974. * http://www.webster.k12.mo.us/education/projects/projects.php?sectiondetailid=20141&&PHPSESSID=6b3fbb1ebf97cad58562222c088e20a9 Ivory Crockett Run "4" Webster {{DEFAULTSORT:Crockett, Ivory 1948 births Living people American male sprinters People from Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves High School alumni Southern Illinois Salukis athletes USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri Track and field athletes from Missouri