Ollan Conn Cassell (born October 5, 1937) is an American sprinter in the 1950s and 1960s, winning a gold medal in the men's 4 × 400 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 1964 Summer Olympics. In his early 30s, Cassell later became the executive director of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU). Cassell was born in Nickelsville, Virginia. He graduated from Appalachia High School in

Appalachia, Virginia Appalachia is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,754 at the 2010 census. History The Appalachia post office was established in 1898. The community was named for the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. The Derby H ...

. Cassell won his first AAU championship title in 1957 in . Cassell took up the quarter-mile when attending to

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. In 1962, he won gold medals in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay and a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the

World Military Championships The World Military Championships (WMC) are the world championships of the military sports, regularly organized by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire, in each of the 26 disciplines of the sport military. History CISM had its roots in Worl ...

. The following year, at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

, Cassell won two gold medals in the relays and was second in 200 m and sixth in 100 m. At the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Olympics, Cassell was a semifinalist in 400 m and ran the opening leg in the American 4 × 400 m relay team, which won the gold medal with 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 3:00.7. Cassell won his second (and last) AAU title in in 1965. After that, he retired from sports and started to work as the track and field administrator of the AAU 1965–1972. He was an Executive Director of the AAU 1970–1980 and Executive Director of USA Track and Field 1980–1997. He also was a founding member of the International Athletics Foundation that was created in 1988 and served as vice-president of the International Amateur Athletics Foundation (IAAF) 1976–1999. He was elected to the United States

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

as a contributor in 2006.

References

Sports ReferenceUSATF Hall of Fame Bio
1937 births Living people People from Scott County, Virginia American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Track and field athletes from Virginia Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes University of Houston alumni University of Indianapolis faculty Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletics (track and field) administrators Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 20th-century American people {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub