Leighton William Charles Dye (October 30, 1901 – October 25, 1977) was an American

hurdler 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, ...

. He placed fourth in the

110 m hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

and was United States champion in 1926.

Biography

Dye was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on October 30, 1901. Representing coach

Dean Cromwell Dean Bartlett Cromwell (September 20, 1879 – August 3, 1962), nicknamed "Maker of Champions", was an American athletic coach in multiple sports, principally at the University of Southern California (USC). He was the head coach of the USC trac ...

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

, Dye won the

IC4A IC4A Championships (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year. Association was established in 1875, the competition (started in 1876) served as the top level col ...

120 yd (109.7 m) hurdles title as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

in 1925, running 14.8; USC won that year's IC4A team title. Later that year he placed third at the national championships, behind Olympic finalist George Guthrie and NCAA champion Hugo Leistner. In 1926 Dye repeated as IC4A champion, this time in 14.7, and placed second to Guthrie at the

NCAA championships 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 ...

; the Trojans again won the IC4A team title, and would have also won the NCAA title if one had been awarded that year. Dye then won at the national championships in 14.6, equalling both his personal best and Guthrie's meeting record from the previous year. Dye again ran 14.6, this time for the metric 110 m hurdles, at the 1928 Southwestern Olympic Tryouts, qualifying for the final Olympic Trials; the time broke

Earl Thomson Earl John "Tommy" Thomson (February 15, 1895 – May 19, 1971) was a Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high hurdles. In 1920 he became the first Olympic gold medalist in 110 m hurdles from outside the United States. Biography Born in Birch ...

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 ...

for the metric distance of 14.8, although it was still inferior to Thomson's 14.4 for the imperial hurdles and was never ratified as a world record. At the final Trials in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Dye placed third behind Steve Anderson and John Collier, qualifying for the Olympics. At the Olympics in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Dye won his heat in 15.0 and then his semi-final in 14.8, a time that equalled both the

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games, including: * Archery (list) * Alpine skiing (records recognized only by FIS) * Athletics (list) ...

and Thomson's still-official metric world record; however, South Africa's

George Weightman-Smith George Collinson Weightman-Smith (31 October 1905 – April 1972) was a South African athlete who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He finished 21st in the javelin throw and fifth in the 110 m hurdles, behind the teammate Sid Atkinson who won ...

ran 14.6 in a subsequent semi-final. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Dye placed fourth behind

Sid Atkinson Sidney James Montford Atkinson (14 March 1901 – 31 August 1977) was a South African athlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Atkinson came onto the international athletics scene in 1922, when he ran the 110 m hurdles in ...

, Anderson and Collier, but defeated Weightman-Smith. Dye later became a sales executive for the

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

. He died in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

on October 25, 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dye, Leighton 1901 births 1977 deaths American male hurdlers USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Track and field athletes from St. Louis