Emmit King (March 24, 1959 – November 28, 2021) was an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter, who twice was a member of the American Relay Team for the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

(1984 and 1988) but he did not compete. He is best known for winning the bronze medal at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in the men's 100 metres. At the same championships, he was part of the team that won gold in the 4 × 100 m relay for the United States, and in doing so set a new world record of 37.86 s. He set his personal best (10.04) in the 100 metres on June 17, 1988, at the 1988 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. While at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, King became the 1983 NCAA 100 meters National Champion (10.15 seconds). King was also twice national champion at the short sprint indoors: in 1984 at 60 yards and in 1988 at 55 metres. In 1986, he became a member of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity through the Theta Delta chapter at the University. King was also a graduate of

Hueytown High School Hueytown High School is a four-year State school, public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Hueytown, Alabama, Hueytown. It is one of fourteen high schools in the Jefferson County Schools (Alabama), Jefferson ...

in Alabama. In 1986 he married fellow Olympian Lillie Leatherwood. King was killed in a shooting after a dispute on November 28, 2021, in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is within the Bi ...

. He was 62.

Rankings

King was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 m sprint event in the period 1979 to 1988, according to the votes of the experts of ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

''.

References

External links

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US Olympic Team
1959 births 2021 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide men's track and field athletes American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Bessemer, Alabama Track and field athletes from Alabama World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Hueytown High School alumni USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Deaths by firearm in Alabama American murder victims NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub