LeRoy Perry Samse (September 13, 1883 – May 1, 1956) was an American
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
who competed mainly in the
pole vault. Samse represented the United States in the
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...
held in
St Louis,
United States in the pole vault where he won the silver medal.
Samse attended
Kokomo High School from 1899-1902, before enrolling at
Indiana University where he was reportedly introduced to the pole vault by coach
James H. Horne
James Howard Horne (July 24, 1874 – April 13, 1959) was an athletic director and coach of American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field at Indiana University between 1898 and 1905.
Early life and education
Horne was born July 24 ...
.
[Kokomo's First World Record-Breaking Athlete Honored at Indiana University, ''Kokomo Tribune'', November 3, 1953] Samse was acknowledged for having set a
world record in the pole vault at a
Western Intercollegiate Conference meet in Evanston, Illinois on June 2, 1906.
His vault of 12' 4 7/8" beat the mark of 12' 3" set three days earlier in New York by
Alfred Carlton Gilbert
Alfred Carlton Gilbert (February 15, 1884 – January 24, 1961) was an American inventor, athlete, magician, toy-maker and businessman. Gilbert invented the Erector Set and manufactured American Flyer Trains.
Early life and education
Gilbert ...
of
Yale University.
After graduating Samse traveled with a triple bar horizontal act, followed by an aerial act that played county fairs. In 1920 he was hired as Physical Education director in the Los Angeles school system. He retired in 1946.
In 2009, Indiana University put on the first ever LeRoy Samse Invitational, an informal meeting where vaulters are required to jump on non-bending poles similar to Samse's. The inaugural meet was won by Vera Neuenswander on the women's side (9 feet), and Jeff Coover on the men's side (12 feet). The meet record is still considered to be Samse's personal record of 12' 4 7/8".
References
External links
Leroy Samse at databaseOlympics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samse, LeRoy
1883 births
1956 deaths
American male pole vaulters
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field
Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics