John David "J.D." Martin (born March 19, 1939) is an American former

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 who competed in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a #bar, bar. Pole jumping was already practiced by the ...

and

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 ...

. His greatest achievement was a decathlon gold medal for the United States at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games, officially known as the IV Pan American Games () and commonly known as São Paulo 1963, were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted b ...

. He set a games record of 7335 points in the process, also a personal record. His personal record for the pole vault was . His best finish nationally was third in the decathlon at the 1961

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

. Raised in

Erick, Oklahoma Erick ( ) is a city in Beckham County, Oklahoma, Beckham County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located west of Sayre, Oklahoma, Sayre, the county seat, and east of the Oklahoma-Texas border. The population was an even 1,000 at the time of the ...

, at collegiate level he competed for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

and won the

NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It has been held every year since 1921, except fo ...

in 1960. He quickly moved into coaching and served as the track and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

coach at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

from 1964 to 1997. Over this period, he was coach to two Olympic gold medallists, 22 individual national champions and 171 collegiate All-Americans. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. His alma mater set up the J.D. Martin Invitational track meet in 2006 in his honour.J.D. Martin Invitational Begins Friday
Sooner Sports (2006-02-02). Retrieved on 2018-01-07.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, John David Living people 1939 births People from Erick, Oklahoma Track and field athletes from Oklahoma American male pole vaulters American track and field coaches Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Oklahoma Sooners men's track and field athletes American male decathletes Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References