LeRoy Braxton Cochran (January 6, 1919 – September 26, 1981)
was an American sprinter and hurdler, winner of two gold medals at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
.
Born in
Richton, Mississippi
Richton is a town in Perry County, Mississippi. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,068 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total a ...
, as the ninth of ten children to a sportive family. Cochran played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and was a one-man track team in the high school. Cochran wanted to go to
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
with a football scholarship, but was persuaded by his older brother
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
, who won a gold medal at
1924 Summer 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 ...
in 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 ...
, to go to
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
with a track scholarship. Commodore later became also his coach.
After winning the
AAU championships in 400 m hurdles in 1939, Cochran was selected to the 1940 US Olympic team to run 400 m flat, 400 m hurdles and 4×400 m relay race. But when the
1940 Summer Olympics
The 1940 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were originally scheduled to be held from September 21 to October 6, 1940, in Tokyo City, Empire of Japan. They were rescheduled for Helsinki, Finland, to be held from ...
were cancelled due to the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Cochran entered the V-7 Navy officer training course in 1942, and went to
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
for training in the Navy's Sub Chaser Training School. He served in the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
during the war and 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 ...
in pursuit of graduate degrees in physiology after the war.
Cochran took up athletics again at USC and in 1942 set world indoor records in the 400 m and 440 yd and a world outdoor record in the 440 yd. He won his second AAU title in 400 m hurdles in 1948, thus qualifying to the Olympics. In the Olympic final
Duncan White
Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Engl ...
from
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
went off at a terrific pace, but by half distance Cochran was ahead. He won by a huge margin, beating second-placed White by 0.7 seconds. Cochran won his second gold medal as he ran the third leg of the 4×400 m relay for the winning USA team.
[
In 2010 Cochran was posthumously named to 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, b ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochran, Roy
1919 births
1981 deaths
People from Richton, Mississippi
Track and field athletes from Mississippi
American male hurdlers
American male sprinters
Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
University of Southern California alumni
Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy officers