Harry Winston Jerome (September 30, 1940 – December 7, 1982) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 and

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

teacher. He won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics in

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and set a total of seven world records over the course of his career.

Early life

Harry Jerome was born in

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, the son of Harry Vincent Jerome and Elsie Ellen Howard, and moved to North Vancouver,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, at age 12. His grandfather was

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

, an American-born railway porter who represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

. Harry's sister, Valerie Jerome, was also an Olympian who competed for Canada at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Athletic career

Jerome competed at the university level for

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic Games, Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 2 ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He was a member of the Canadian track and field team at the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, winning 100 metre

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

in 1964. Jerome wore his University of Oregon sweats, rather than the contemporary practice of an official national outfit for all Olympic appearances, to warm up for the Olympic 100 metres in Tokyo. He won the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

held in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. During his career, Jerome set a total of seven world records, including tying the 100 metre record at 10.0 seconds in 1960, equalling the mark established a month earlier by Germany's Armin Hary. Later he tied the world record for the 100 yard dash at 9.3 seconds (1961), making Jerome one of the few athletes to own both the 100 yard and 100 metre world record simultaneously. Jerome was a member of the University of Oregon relay team that tied the world record of 40.0 seconds in 1962; during the 1962 season, Harry ran 9.2s at the 100 yard dash 2 times. In 1966 he again tied a world record with a 9.1 time in the 100 yard. From 1963 to 1966 he held or equalled four world records concurrently. He remains the only man to have held the 100 yard world record with 3 different times and is the oldest 100y world record holder, at 25 years old. Jerome never owned the 100y or 100m WR solely but matched his contemporaries. Jerome won the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1961 AAA Championships. Jerome continued to sprint successfully until the late 1960s, despite suffering an injury so severe at the Perth Commonwealth Games in 1962 that doctors initially believed he would be crippled for life.

Teaching and post-athletic career

Jerome received a bachelor's degree in

from the University of Oregon in 1964 and taught with the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

School Board (1964–65) and then with the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

School Board (1965–68). In 1968, he received a master's in physical education from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. After retiring from athletics in 1969, Jerome was invited by Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

to help create Canada's new Ministry of Sport. Jerome held a number of senior positions in the ministry but resigned over the government's cancellation of a large public-private partnership he had negotiated with

Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...

to promote youth participation in athletics. During the 1980s, Jerome headed the Premier's Sport Award program in British Columbia. Jerome died of a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

on December 7, 1982, at the age of 42, in North Vancouver.

Honours and tributes

In 1970, Jerome was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. The following year he was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

. Jerome was posthumously inducted into

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

in 2001 and was named a Person of National Historical Significance in 2010. In 1984, the Labatts International Track Classic Pre-Olympic meet was renamed the Harry Jerome International Track Classic. The meet is held annually at

Swangard Stadium Swangard Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Central Park (Burnaby), Central Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Primarily used for association football, soccer, rugby, Canadian Football, football, and sport of athletics, athletics, the stadiu ...

in Burnaby, British Columbia. The Harry Jerome Sports Complex in North Vancouver, one block from North Vancouver High School where he first went out for track in 1958, and the Harry Jerome Sports Centre, home to the Burnaby

Velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

, are named after Jerome, as are the weight room at the

and the track and field stadium in Prince Albert. The

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...

sea wall in

is graced with a bronze statue of Jerome. The annual Harry Jerome Awards, the national awards dinner for Canada's black community organized by the Black Business and Professionals Association (BBPA), is named after him. Another meet, called the Harry Jerome Indoor Games was created in 2011. It is held at the Richmond Olympic Oval, once used for

Speed Skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

events at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but now a multi-purpose sports facility. The meet is mainly attended by high school students representing lower mainland clubs, as well as some university student-athletes, and younger athletes. On September 30, 2019,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

celebrated Harry Jerome's 79th birthday with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

Works about Jerome

Production began in April 2009 on a feature-length biographical documentary entitled ''Mighty Jerome''. Directed by Charles Officer and produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

(NFB) in Vancouver, the film was inspired by Fil Fraser’s book on Jerome, entitled ''Running Uphill''. NFB producer Selwyn Jacob had approached Officer — along with four other directors — in 2007 with idea of making a documentary about Jerome. Officer's proposal was selected by Jacob and the NFB, despite the fact that he had never directed a documentary before. The black and white film uses archival footage,

interviews An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

and dramatizations to explore Jerome's life and career. Officer recreated museum installations in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

and

to interview Jerome's contemporaries and family members. Jerome's sister Valerie refused to participate in the film due to objections over his portrayal in Fraser's book. The film premiered at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

on October 8, 2010. Jerome's 100 metre bronze medal performance at the Tokyo

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

is captured in the documentary film '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965) directed by

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...

. Slow-motion close-up footage of Jerome (along with other athletes) preparing for the race begins at the 26 minute mark and then the race is shown in its entirety at full speed.

Achievements

* 1960

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

100 m: 10.0 (tied record of Armin Hary) *

100 m Canadian team member * 1961

100 yds: 9.3 * 1962

100 yds: 9.2 * 1962

440 yds: 40.0 University of Oregon team member * 1963

60 yds indoor: 6.0 *

100 m: 3rd 10.2 / 200 m: 4th 20.7 * 1966

100 yds: 9.1 * 1966 Canadian record 220 yds: 20.4 * 1966 Commonwealth Games 100 yds: 1st 9.4 *

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games, officially known as the V Pan American Games () and commonly known as Winnipeg 1967, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on ...

100m: 1st 10.2 *

100 m: 7th 10.2

References

External links

Harry Jerome International Track Classic''Mighty Jerome''
at the

(Requires

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...

) * *University of Orego
Records of Harry and Valerie Jerome are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books

Tokyo Olympiad
a
Criterion.comWalk of Fame Simcoe Street (ontario)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerome, Harry 1940 births 1982 deaths Canadian male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1967 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Officers of the Order of Canada Sportspeople from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Sportspeople from North Vancouver Canadian people of African-American descent Black Canadian sportsmen Black Canadian track and field athletes Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver) Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) History of Black people in British Columbia FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Canadian Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics