Maurice Peoples (born December 17, 1950) is an American former sprinter.

Biography

He was two time American champion in the

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

. He also had the dubious distinction of being selected to the 1972 United States Olympic Team as one of the six members of the

4x400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team, but never getting onto the track as three of his teammates were unable to compete: gold and silver medalists Vince Matthews and

Wayne Collett Wayne Curtis Collett (October 20, 1949 – March 17, 2010) was an African-American Olympic sprinter. Collett won a silver medal in the 400 m at the 1972 Summer Olympics. During the medal ceremony Collett and winner Vincent Matthews talked to eac ...

were sent home by a sensitive International Olympic Committee after they appeared inattentive at the medal ceremony, while John Smith had pulled his hamstring while leading 80 meters into the 400 metres final and had been ruled unfit to run. Peoples went to

G. A. R. Memorial Junior Senior High School G.A.R. Memorial Junior/Senior High School (commonly known throughout the area simply as 'G.A.R.') was a high school located on 250 South Grant Street, in Wilkes-Barre, located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. G.A.R. was both a jun ...

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...

, Pennsylvania, where he was the 1968 and 1969 state champion in the

Triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

, coached by longtime coach Vince Wojnar. Peoples next went to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

where he is still ranked second in the 400m on their all-time list, behind 1968 Olympian

Ron Freeman Ronald John Freeman III (born June 12, 1947 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American former athlete. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Freeman won a gold medal in the 4×400 m relay and a bronze medal in the 400 meters. Freeman ran the second leg on ...

. Peoples is an ordained minister and coached for 35 years. He is one of the authors of ''Sprint Secrets''

References

1950 births Living people American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub