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, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, when he was a child. After serving in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a lieutenant of field artillery in the U.S. Marines, Paddock studied at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. There he became a member of the track and field team, and excelled in the sprint events. He won the 100 and 200 m in the first major sporting event after the war, the 1919

Inter-Allied Games The Inter-Allied Games was a one-off multi-sport event held from 22 June to 6 July 1919 at the newly constructed Pershing Stadium just outside Paris, France following the end of World War I. The host stadium had been built near the Bois de Vi ...

, in which soldiers of the Allied nations competed against each other. Paddock was the first person named "The fastest man alive". In 1920, Paddock represented his country at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. In Belgium, he had his greatest successes, winning the 100 m final, while placing second in the 200 m event. With the American 4 × 100 m relay team, Paddock won a third Olympic medal. Paddock became famous for his unusual finishing style, leaping towards the finish line at the end of the race. The next year, he ran the 110 yd, which is slightly more than 100 m, in 10.2 seconds. It was not until 1956 that the world record for the 100 m became lower than Paddock's time over 110 yard. Paddock broke or equaled several other world records over Imperial distances. At the 1924 Olympics, Paddock again qualified for both the 100 and 200 m finals, but he was less successful than four years earlier; he finished 5th in the 100 m and won another silver medal in the 200 m. Paddock was not a part of the American relay team. In ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...

'', the 1981 Oscar-winning film about those races, Paddock was portrayed by

Dennis Christopher Dennis Christopher Carrelli (born December 2, 1950) is a retired American actor whose film credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Fade to Black'' (1980), ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981), '' It'' (1990), and '' Django Unchained'' (2012). Ear ...

. In 1928, Paddock participated in his third Olympics, but did not reach the 200 m final. During his athletic activities, Paddock also held management positions in several newspapers; his father-in-law was newspaper publisher Charles H. Prisk. In 1926, Paddock appeared in '' The Campus Flirt'', a black-and-white silent film (now lost) featuring another Texas native, Paramount starlet

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" () Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals s ...

. Paddock served on the personal staff of Major General William P. Upshur beginning at the end of

. An autobiography, entitled ''The Fastest Human'', was published in 1932. In 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Upshur and Paddock (by then a captain) died in a plane crash near Sitka,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Paddock is interred at Sitka National Cemetery in Sitka. In 1976 he was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Competition record

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paddock, Charley 1900 births 1943 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Gainesville, Texas Sportspeople from Cooke County, Texas Pasadena High School (California) alumni University of Southern California alumni Accidental deaths in Alaska Track and field athletes from Texas Track and field athletes from Pasadena, California American male film actors Male actors from Texas Male actors from Pasadena, California 20th-century American male actors Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Burials at Sitka National Cemetery Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1943 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States World record setters in athletics (track and field) United States Marine Corps officers Military personnel from California Military personnel from Texas USC Trojans men's track and field athletes 20th-century American sportsmen