Louis Woodard "Lou" Jones (January 15, 1932 – February 3, 2006) was an American
athlete. He won a gold medal in the 4x400
m relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
at the
1956 Summer Olympics.
Born in
New Rochelle, New York, Jones graduated from
Manhattan College in 1954. He won the 400 m at the
1955 Pan-American Games, where he set a new
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 ...
of 45.4. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning American 4 × 400 m relay team.
Just four months before the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
Olympics, Jones broke his own 400 m world record, clocking 45.2 at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the
US Olympic Trials, thus becoming a main favorite at this event in Melbourne. But in the Olympic 400 m final, Jones was off form, and managed to finish only in a disappointing fifth place, 1.50 seconds behind teammate
Charles Jenkins. A few days later, Jones partly compensated for his disappointment, running the second leg in the gold medal-winning American 4 × 400 m relay team.
References
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Lou Jones 1932-2006 Teacher, coach, Olympic athlete
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Louis
1932 births
2006 deaths
American male sprinters
Sportspeople from New Rochelle, New York
Track and field athletes from New York (state)
Athletes (track and field) at the 1955 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Manhattan College alumni
Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games
New Rochelle High School alumni