Otto Anderson (October 28, 1900 – November 15, 1963) 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 ...

. He competed at the

1920 Antwerp Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

and the

1924 Paris Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

,. Anderson was born in

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7 percent increase from the figure of 9,925 in the 2000 census. First kno ...

on October 28, 1900. He started his athletics career with the hurdles while still a student at Pomona High School. Still at school, he qualified for the

team in the hop, skip and jump (now called 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 ...

). He competed at that event, but the results are proving difficult to find. After leaving school, he attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(U.S.C.) where he added more track events and football to his activities. In the 1922 AAU Championship he finished second in the 220 yard hurdles. In March 1923 at the annual games between Stanford University and U.S.C., he equalled the world record for the 220 yard "low hurdles" event, in 24.8 seconds. Anderson qualified for the fourth of four places to compete in the men's decathlon at the 1924 Olympics. Once in Paris, he was injured in a bad landing in the sawdust pit during pole vault practice. His

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

was torn loose among other injuries, and he was unable to complete the competition. 1925 was his final year at U.S.C. and he was captain of their track team, and captain of the

Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America 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 co ...

(I.C.A.A.A.A.) champions. After graduating from U.S.C., he competed for Los Angeles AC and Hollywood AC. At the national AAU Championship he finished second in the decathlon. Later he took a coaching role at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, where he coached Anne Vrana-O’Brien, who went on to represent the USA at the Olympics in 1928 and 1936.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Otto 1900 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics American male decathletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Olympic decathletes Pasadena City Lancers football coaches USC Trojans football players People from Guthrie, Oklahoma Players of American football from Pomona, California Coaches of American football from California Track and field athletes from California