Jack Eldred Greenwood (February 5, 1926, in

Steele City, Nebraska Steele City is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 47 at the 2020 census. History Steele City was founded in 1873 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad was extended to that point. It is named for Dudle ...

– January 9, 2015, in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

) was an American

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 ...

athlete. He is the former

world record holder In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

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 ...

in the masters age divisions M45, M50, M55, M60 and M65. His hurdle records were so advanced, the shortest any of them lasted was almost ten years, all but one broken by the same athlete, German Guido Müller. He had a similar record over the short hurdles. He also had his time at the top of the M50 and M60

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

and ten years at the top of the M65 200 meters (plus the M50 record). Two of his marks survive to this day as

American records American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Jack went t
Argentine High School
in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, where he was the Kansas state high hurdles champion before joining the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1945. His son Riley MacGregor Greenwood would follow in his father's footsteps winning the same race in 1977 for Medicine Lodge High School. Following two years in the Army, Greenwood ran for the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, where he was a five time conference champion in hurdles, primarily the

low hurdles Low hurdle races are a generally defunct form of track and field hurdle racing. The event, generally run at or near a distance of 200 metres, was popular through 1960 at the international level. After that, the IAAF stopped ratifying records in ...

. Professionally, he was president and manager of the Barber County Savings and Loan Association of

Medicine Lodge, Kansas Medicine Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,781. History 19th century The particular medicine lodge, mystery house or sacred tabernacle from ...

. He also served on the local city council and school board. But he remained active in sports. In the formative years of Masters Athletics, Greenwood was part of the USMITT tour of Europe, which drew together the two most active continents. He was a winner at the first 1975 World Association of Veteran Athletes Championships, and continue to win until arthritis forced his competitive retirement in 1991. Greenwood died on January 9, 2015, after several health complications. Before his death, Greenwood resided in

, with his wife Nancy, who is a retired art teacher, and his youngest son Jack. Greenwood's other son, Riley, resides in

Valley Center, Kansas Valley Center is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,340. History Valley Center was incorporated on September 29, 1885, and was named for its loca ...

, as a high school science teacher, with his wife, Diane, who owns a home daycare, and his son Jack, who is named after his grandfather. In 1997, he was in the second class selected to the

USATF Masters Hall of Fame The USATF Masters Hall of Fame is the Masters section of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It is intended to select worthy athletes from the various divisions of Masters athletics involved in the sports of track and field, road running an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Jack 1926 births 2015 deaths American male hurdlers American male sprinters American masters athletes People from Jefferson County, Nebraska People from Medicine Lodge, Kansas Sportspeople from Aurora, Colorado Track and field athletes from Kansas University of Kansas alumni World record holders in masters athletics