Donald Fithian Lippincott (November 16, 1893 – January 9, 1963) was an American athlete who competed in the sprint events. He competed for the United States in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden where he finished third in the 100 m and second in the 200 m. Lippincott was the first record holder over 100 meters as recognised by the IAAF (then the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

). He set the world record in a heat of 100 m at the 1912 Olympics.Franks, Tim (12 June 2012
How Donald Lippincott blazed trail as first 100m record holder
BBC Sport.

Early life

Lippincott was a scion of a wealthy Philadelphia family.,
, Penn Biographies, Penn University Archives & record Center. Retrieved 12 July 2012. the son of Alfonse Fithian Lippincott (1855-1925). He was a pupil at the

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in D ...

, before attending the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Life as a student

Lippincott was a successful student athlete at the

. In 1913, he equalled the world record for the 100 yards at 9.6 s and equalled Ralph Craig's record for 220 y (straight track) at 21.2 s.Duncanson, p. 33. He also, in 1915, was a member of the Penn 4×440 y relay team that set a new world record of 3:18.0. Lippincott also had a time recorded for 440 y of 48.0 s and, though this is a suspect timing, he was without doubt a talented performer over this distance. During his time at university, Lippincott was a member of the varsity track team that was the dominant force in college track and field at the time, winning 3 Intercollegiate association of Amateur Athletics of America (IC4A) championships in 4 years in the period 1910–13. The team was coached by

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

who died in 1913. It is said Lippincott ran the 220 y in world record time to guarantee Murphy his last championship. In 1915, Lippincott was named captain of the track team. Lippincott also did well in other areas of student life. He was a member of: * Phi Kappa Beta Junior Honorary Society * Sphinx Senior Society *

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

fraternity * Canteen club As a student athlete, he also acted as: * head cheerleader * member of the Board of Director of the Athletic Association Lippincott graduated from the Wharton school at Penn with a degree in Economics in 1915.

1912 Olympics

Lippincott had been spotted as a talent whilst a freshman at university, and was offered a place on the Olympics team if he could fund his own travel. The story within the Lippincott family is that his mother tried to stop him travelling because she was worried about his sea voyage to Europe following the sinking of the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'' only months before. She tried to persuade Lippincott's father to write his son a letter stating that the family business was struggling and no money for travel would be forthcoming. In the end he did raise the sponsorship money from Penn alumni and his parents relented. There is no evidence that the business was indeed struggling at the time and the family remained wealthy. In 1912, the USA Olympic trials consisted of 3 area meets (Western, Central and Eastern) that served as guides for team selection by the USOC and the AAU in conjunction. Lippincott ran in the Eastern trials (held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 8) finishing fourth in the 100 m final but was eliminated at the semi-final stage in the 200 m. In the end, Lippincott was one of eleven American athletes selected for the 100m!Hymans, R. (2008
The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field
, USA Track & Field, pp. 3. and 45.From the 1920 Olympics, a maximum of 4 athletes could be selected in a single event, which was changed in 1932 to the present maximum of 3.

100 m

Lippincott set the world record in a heat 16 of 100 m. Richard Rau was considered to have the then unofficial world's best time of 10.5 s but this had not been properly ratified. The time was actually quoted as 10 3/5 s, as the hand watches of the day recorded race times in 1/5 (0.2) s increments. Lippincott would remain world record holder for eight years without peers (in 1920

Jackson Scholz Jackson Volney Scholz (March 15, 1897 – October 26, 1986) was an American sprint runner. In the 1920s, he became the first person to appear in an Olympic sprint final in three different Olympic Games. After his athletic career, he also gained ...

gained a share of the record, and in 1921

Charlie Paddock Charles William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and two time Olympic champion. Biography Paddock was born in Gainesville, Texas to Charles H. and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to Pasadena, Califor ...

recorded a new record of 10.4 s). In the 100 m final itself there were seven false starts, one of which led to both Lippincott and the eventual winner Ralph Craig sprinting the whole length of the track. To relieve his tension at the start, Lippincott squeezed a cork that is still in the family's possession. When the race finally got underway, George Patching from South Africa (the only non-American in the final) led until halfway, where the three Americans Craig, Lippincott and Alvah Meyer drew level. Craig then drew ahead, but it was a blanket finish and the crowd was unsure who had won. So it was left to the judges to announce the final result, Craig first, Meyer second and Lippincott third.

200 m

In the 200 m final, Craig was too powerful for the rest for gold but Lippincott was a strong second.Quercetani, p. 36.

4×100 m

Lippincott was not a member of the USA team that was disqualified for exchanging outside the zone in their semi-final. The USA team with any combination of their sprinters were the overwhelming favourites for the 4 × 100 m relay title.

Later life

After graduation in 1915, Lippincott saw war service in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a lieutenant in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. After the war, he went into banking in Philadelphia, eventually becoming a broker, first with Samuel McCreery and Co. and later with Merrill Lynch. Lippincott supported his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, by becoming the president of the Class of 1915, and in doing so helping to establish the "Class of ’15 Award" for the male student who excelled best both athletically and academically. He also helped to establish the annual football club dinner."Donald F. Lippincott"
, pennathletics.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012. Lippincott is interred in a family plot in the Merion section of

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is 200 acres in size and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in neighboring P ...

Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separ ...

, Pennsylvania.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Duncanson, Neil, "The Fastest Men on Earth", Andre Deutsch, 2011, . *Quercetani, R. L. & Pallicca, G. (2006) ''A World History of Sprint Racing 1850–2005'', SEP Editrice Srl, . *IAAF, Progression of IAAF World Records, 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Motrahazi, IAAF. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lippincott, Don American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field 1893 births 1963 deaths Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy officers