Ellery Harding Clark (March 13, 1874 – July 27, 1949) 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 ...

athlete and a writer. He was the first modern Olympic champion in

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

.Clark, Former Olympic Champion, Dies at 75, ''Daily Southern Independent Illinoisan'', July 27, 1949

Biography

Clark is the only person to have won both the Olympic high jump and long jump. Clark achieved it in 1896, at the first modern Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. A

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

student, he was given a leave of absence to compete because of his high grades - in contrast to another gold medal winner from Harvard,

James Connolly James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...

. Clark was one of the top all-around athletes from 1893 to 1912. In the long jump, Clark had used his hat to mark his runway. Twice the judge ( King Constantine of Greece) had removed the hat, saying this was a practice of professionals. Only at the third attempt, and without the hat, did Clark achieve a valid jump, good enough for gold. His final jump was of 6.35 meters. Clark later won the high jump as well, clearing 1.81 meters. The closest competitors were fellow Americans Connolly and Robert Garrett at 1.65 meters. In the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

, Clark was among the bottom three of the seven-man field. He never won a national championship in either jump, but he was the 1897 and 1903 AAU champion in the all-around, an event similar to the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

. He won the 1897 American all-around championship with performances that would have won him the 1896 Olympic

, and

, and probably the 100 metres and the 110 metres hurdles as well. Ellery also competed in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, in the all-around competition. Although he had to abandon the contest after five events due to

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, he was still classed sixth. At age 32, he was still winning major meets. He competed as a walker until the age of 56. Clark's professional life was equally varied. He excelled as an author, lawyer, track coach, teacher and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

city alderman. He wrote 19 books including one which was made into a 1952 film, ''

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

''. In 1904 he married Mary Victoria Maddelena, a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

. The engagement and subsequent marriage caused something of a stir in the press - Clark was a millionaire and Maddalena was from the 'South end slums'.Like a Fairy Story, ''Baltimore Sun'', May 8, 1904 In 1949, he died at the age 75 on a train en route from Boston to his home at Cohasset. Clark was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in 1991.

References

External links

*
The First Americans at the Olympic Games by Ellery Clark
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ellery Harding 1874 births 1949 deaths American male decathletes American male high jumpers American male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Harvard Crimson men's track and field athletes Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic male high jumpers People from West Roxbury, Boston Track and field athletes from Boston 19th-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen