Charles William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) 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-dev ...

and two time

Olympic 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 b ...

champion.

Biography

Paddock was born in

Gainesville, Texas Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,002 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center. History Founded in 1850, the city of Gain ...

to Charles H. and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to Pasadena, California when he was a child. After serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as a lieutenant of field artillery in the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

, Paddock studied at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

. 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 (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

in Antwerp. 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 yd. Paddock broke or equaled several other world records over Imperial distances. At the

1924 Olympics 1924 Olympics may refer to: *The 1924 Winter Olympics, which were held in Chamonix, France *The 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de ...

, 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 relay team. In ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical 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 Olympics: Eric Liddell, ...

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

Dennis Christopher Dennis Christopher (born Dennis Carrelli; December 2, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' Fade to Black'' (1980), '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981), '' It'' (1990) and '' Django Unchained'' (20 ...

. 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. Paddock served on the personal staff of Major General

William P. Upshur Major General William Peterkin Upshur (October 28, 1881 – July 21, 1943) was the recipient of the United States' highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in 1915 during the Haitian Campaign. Biography William Upshur w ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. Paddock is interred at

Sitka National Cemetery Sitka National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Sitka, Alaska. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005 had 1,049 interments. It is administered as part of the Fort Richardson National Cemetery by the Unit ...

in Sitka. In 1976 he was inducted into the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

Competition record

References

External links

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{{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 University of Southern California alumni Accidental deaths in Alaska Track and field athletes from California Sportspeople from Texas Sportspeople 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) Universiade 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