Robert Earl Taylor (born April 29, 1953) is an American former sprinter. At the 1975

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

, Taylor was a member of gold medal winning 4 × 400 m relay team and won the AAU championships in 400 m in 1977. Taylor came third in the

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

at the 1977 IAAF Athletics World Cup in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

whilst representing the US. By virtue of this, he was part of a controversy as the race was re-run the day after the first run because

Alberto Juantorena Alberto Juantorena (born 3 December 1950) is a Cuban former runner. He is the only athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m Olympic titles, which he achieved in 1976. He was ranked as world's best runner in the 400 m in 1974 and 1976–1978, a ...

(of Cuba representing the Americas) lodged a successful protest that he had not been able to hear the starter's gun in the first race. Taylor was ranked as one of the best 400 m runners in 1976 and 1977.

References

1953 births Living people American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub