Lorenzo Christopher Wright (December 9, 1926 – March 27, 1972) was an American athlete. A

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

native, he started at Miller High School and

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

; Wright is renowned for his noteworthy accomplishments in the sport of

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

World-Class Athlete

Lorenzo C. Wright's crowning athletic achievement would come as a member of the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

winning 4×100 meter relay team at the 1948 Olympic Games. During those same

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Games, Wright finished fourth in a fiercely contested

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

competition. Willie Steele of the U.S. won the

at 25 feet 8 inches (7.825 m);

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's Theo Bruce came in second, taking the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at 24 feet inches (7.555 m).

Herb Douglas Herbert Paul Douglas Jr. (March 9, 1922 – April 22, 2023) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the long jump. He was the oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist prior to his death at the age of 101. Early life and education Dougl ...

of the United States captured the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

with a jump of 24 feet 9 inches (7.545 m), and Lorenzo Wright ended up in fourth place at 24 feet inches (7.45 m)a hand's width from a second trip to the medals podium. At Miller High, Wright was a two-time Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League champion in the

. Upon graduating from high school, LC Wright served eighteen months in the U.S. Army. Then, as a student-athlete for Wayne State University, Wright was an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

All-American in 1947 and 1948; placing second and third respectively in the long jump. Lorenzo Wright was a Central Collegiate Conference indoor champion in the 60-yard dash; he was also the inaugural

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

titlist in the 100 and 220-yard dash, 220-yard low hurdles, and the long jump. During his career, Wright won two individual and two relay squad titles at the prestigious Penn Relays. Wright also won the long jump event at the 1948 and 1952 National AAU Championships. Wright's indoor and outdoor long jump marks, along with his performances in the 100-meter and 220-yard dash, are still Wayne State University varsity recordshaving stood the test of time for nearly seventy years.

Dedicated Coach and Administrator

Following his athletic career, L.C. Wright served many seasons as the track and swimming coach at Miller, Eastern and Southwestern High School; during the 1960s, Wright's athletes were some of the best in the United States. Wright was later appointed Director of the Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League (DPSSAL). Wright was honored posthumously as a 1973 inductee to the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...

and -in 1976- as a charter member of the Wayne State University Athletic Hall of Fame. One of Detroit's major interscholastic athletic facilities, adjacent to Martin Luther King High School, is named Lorenzo C. Wright Field.

Death

In 1972, at age 45, Wright was stabbed to death by his wife Elizabeth during a dispute about their possible separation.

Resources

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 ...

Wayne State University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Lorenzo 1926 births 1972 deaths 1972 murders in the United States American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Wayne State University alumni Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Mariticides Track and field athletes from Detroit Deaths by stabbing in Michigan American male long jumpers American murder victims Male murder victims United States Army soldiers