Robert Cloughen (January 26, 1889August 7, 1930) was an American

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, a member of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

, and a member of the 1908

U.S. Olympic team United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have w ...

. His father John was the fifth

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Borough president in 1909 and also New York City's Commissioner of Public Works. Cloughen attended Morris High School in the Bronx, where he was a member of the football, baseball and basketball teams as well as Treasurer of the Athletic Association. While at Morris, he was also an early member of the Delta Chapter of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity, of which his father became an Honorary Member and Adult Advisor. Subsequent to high school he attended Fordham University, New York University and the Savage School of Physical Education. Cloughen was initially turned down for the 1908 U. S. Olympic team; worked his way to Europe on a tramp steamer; and was accepted as an additional team member on the spot. Cloughen won 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 ...

in the

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

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 ...

. His preliminary heat time was 23.4 seconds; he dropped to 22.6 seconds to win his semifinal. In the final, Cloughen came from behind to nearly catch Robert Kerr on the straightaway; he lost by about nine inches as both finished in 22.6 seconds. Cloughen also competed in the

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

in 1908, winning his first round heat with a time of 11.0 seconds before not starting in the semifinal round. Also in 1908, Cloughen won the National A.A.U junior championship 100 yard sprint, with a time of 10.2 seconds. At the indoor A.A.U championships the same year, Cloughen won the 60 yard and 75 yard races, equaling the existing records and establishing himself as "one of the best sprinters in the United States."1910 Mecca Cigarettes Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series trading card
wingedfist.com In 1909, Cloughen ran 130 yards in 12.8 seconds, establishing a new world's record. In 1910, Cloughen broke the world's record for the 110 yard dash at the Tailtin Games held at Celtic Park, Queens, New York, with a time of 10.8 seconds. "Cloughen jumped into the lead at the start of the 110-yard dash, and led all the way winning by two yards from

John Eller John Jacob ("Jack" or J.J.) Eller, Jr. (October 15, 1883 – January 20, 1967) was an American track and field athlete, a member of the Irish American Athletic Club and a member of the New York City Police Department from 1905 to 1942. Eller was ...

in the remarkably fast time of 0:10 4–5. Billy Keating, another of

Lawson Robertson Lawson N. Robertson (September 23, 1883 – January 22, 1951) was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a member of and trainer for the Irish American Athletic Club, and competed for the U.S. Olympic T ...

's team (the

), finished a close third." In 1922, Cloughen was named track coach at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

. "Cloughen to Coach at Vermont"
''New York Times'', January 25, 1922 (subscription required)] From Vermont he returned to New York as track coach at

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Aca ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

from 1926 to 1930. Robert Cloughen died in August 1930 while training for an Olympic comeback.

References

External links

Robert Cloughen on databaseOlympics.com

Winged Fist Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloughen, Robert 1889 births 1930 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the Bronx Track and field athletes from New York City

References

Further reading

External links