Allen Woodring (February 15, 1898 – November 15, 1982) was an American sprint runner. At the 1920 United States Olympic trials, he failed to qualify in the

200 meters 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 slight ...

yet was selected for the national team and won the

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

in this event. Woodring ran for

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

under

Jimmy Curran James Michael Curran (January 7, 1880 – February 7, 1963) was an athletics coach who trained and coached five Olympics, Olympic gold medalists. From 1900-1902, he fought with the Highland Light Infantry in the Second Boer War, serving much of t ...

, before competing for the Meadowbrook Club of Philadelphia. He graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and later worked as a salesman for the

Spalding Company Spalding is an American sports equipment manufacturing company. It was founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago in 1876 as a baseball manufacturer, and is today headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It sells softballs through its subsidiary Dud ...

. After his athletics career ended he worked as a salesman for Sears, Roebuck & Co. In his later years he moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

.Allen Woodring, Gold Medal Winner in 1920 Olympics, ''Tampa Bay Times'', November 17, 1982

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* 1898 births 1982 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Mercersburg Academy alumni Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Northampton County, Pennsylvania Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub