Raymond "Ray" Clarence Ewry (October 14, 1873 – September 29, 1937) was an American
track and field athlete who won eight gold medals at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and two gold medals at the
Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
(1906 in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
). This puts him among the
most successful Olympians of all time.
Personal life and early career
Ewry was born in
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
, and contracted
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
as a young boy. In his childhood, he used a
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
,
and it was feared that he might become paralysed for life.
However, Ewry did his own exercises and overcame his illness. Ewry attended
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
in 1890–1897, where he captained the track and field team, played
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
,
and became a member of
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...
fraternity. After receiving a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at Purdue, he moved to New York. There he worked as a hydraulics engineer and became a member of the
New York Athletic Club
The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Traver ...
. He specialized in now defunct events, the standing jumps: the
standing high jump, the
standing long jump and the
standing triple jump. These events were similar to their modern, normal versions but the athlete jumped without a run-up.
Career
Ewry proved to be the best standing jumper in the world. At his first
Olympics, held in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
(1900), he won gold medals in all three standing jumps. Incidentally, all three finals were held on the same day (July 16).
At the
1904 Summer Olympics, Ewry successfully defended all three of his titles. The standing triple jump event was discontinued after those Olympics, but Ewry continued to dominate the two remaining standing jump events at both the 1906 Intercalated Games and
1908 Games, thus bringing his total to 10 Olympic gold titles including two from the Intercalated Games, the highest number achieved until 2008.
The
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
are currently not officially recognised by the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, although they were organized as an Olympic event by the IOC. Even if the 1906 games are removed from his totals, he stands () as the 12th most successful Olympian of all time in terms of total individual medals and second most successful in terms of individual gold medals. The standing jumping events were no longer held in the Olympics after 1912.
Ewry's superiority is also displayed by the fact that his
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 ...
in the standing long jump () was still standing when the event was discontinued internationally in the 1930s. In 1974 he was inducted into the
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, ...
and in 1983 into the
United States Olympic Hall of Fame
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
.
Longstanding records for Olympic medals
Ewry's eight Olympic gold medals in individual events (i.e. non-relay), although now second to
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...
's 13, was the record, all alone, for 100 years and 23 days—from July 23, 1908, until Phelps won ''his'' eighth on August 15, 2008 (followed by his ninth on August 16).
His record of winning three gold medals in ''one event'', although it had subsequently been equaled by seven other athletes, was not surpassed for 60 years—from 1908 until
Al Oerter
Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecutive Olympic Ga ...
won his ''fourth'' gold (discus throw) in 1968, a feat equaled by
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...
when he won his fourth (long jump) in 1996,
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...
when he won his fourth (200 meter individual medley) in 2016, and by
Kaori Icho
is a Japanese freestyle wrestler. She is a ten-time World Champion and four-time Olympic Champion, winning gold in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. Icho was undefeated between 2003 and 2016. On 29 January 2016 at the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 20 ...
when she won her fourth consecutive gold in women's wrestling in 2016.
Finally, his record of three gold medals in ''two'' events, set in July 1908 (standing long jump on July 20 and standing high jump on July 23) was not surpassed for 108 years—until in 2016 Michael Phelps won his third gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly to win three gold medals in three events (200-meter individual medley, 100-meter butterfly, and 200-meter butterfly). Phelps equaled Ewry's record in 2012, when he won his third gold in the 100 meter butterfly on August 3, having won his third in the 200-meter individual medley on August 2.
Ewry currently holds the record for the most Olympic medals with a 100% record—8 individual golds.
Bibliography
*
See also
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events.
List of most Olympic gold medals over career
This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...
*
List of multiple Olympic gold medalists in one event
This is a list of Olympians that have won at least three gold medals in one event. It includes top-three placings in 1896 and 1900, before medals were awarded for top-three placings. Medals won in the 1906 Intercalated Games are not included. The O ...
*
List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
This page is a list of various individuals who are multiple Olympic medalists at the Summer Olympics.
List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
This list shows only the athletes who have won ''at least eight medals'' at the Summer Olympics.
M ...
*
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewry, Ray
1873 births
1937 deaths
American male high jumpers
American male long jumpers
American male triple jumpers
Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Purdue University College of Engineering alumni
Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Standing high jump