Stanley Floyd (born June 23, 1961) is a retired
track and field sprinter from the
United States. He was a 1979 graduate of
Dougherty High School in
Albany, Georgia.
In 1980, he was considered one of the favorites for the 100m title but was denied his chance due to the
United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Career
Floyd attended the
University of Houston where he studied for a degree in communications. There he hoped to train towards Olympic success - originally he was aiming for 1984 not 1980 - before turning to American football to earn fame and fortune.
[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125367/1/index.htm 'In the Fast Lane Again', Craig Neff, Sports Illustrated, April 5, 1982.] He originally attended
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
, but left after a year.
In 1980 achieved the best time globally in the
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
, at 10.07 s. This time improved the World junior record (the record of
Mel Lattany from 1978).
Floyd won the 100 m at the
USA Olympic Trials for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's
boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. He had already won the
NCAA and
USA National Championships in the men's 100 metres.
[ A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved 8 March 2012.] This was a triplet of wins last achieved 24 years previously in 1956 by
Bobby Morrow. He was one of 461 athletes to receive a
Congressional Gold Medal instead.
It is debatable whether Floyd would have beaten the eventual champion
Allan Wells
Allan Wipper Wells (born 3 May 1952) is a Scottish former track and field sprinter who became the 100 metres Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Within a fortnight of that, he also took on and beat America's best sprinters ...
at the Olympics. He had the faster time for the year and in post-Olympic meetings he beat Wells by 2 to 1. However, Wells won the psychologically important first meeting in Cologne and clearly suffered from declining form as his long season ended.
In 1981, Floyd became United States champion indoors at 60 m.
Later in the year outdoors, Floyd was second in the US National Championships at 100 metres.
He was thus reserve at the
1981 Athletics World Cup to
Carl Lewis, and even warmed-up for the event in case Lewis was injured competing in the long jump, whose start preceded the 100 m scheduled run time by only 40 minutes. In the end he wasn't required to run, but in retrospect maybe he should have because Lewis was injured in the race and finished last.
He had a scintillating 1982 indoor season, establishing world records at 50 yards ( 5.22 s), 60 yards (6.09 s), and 55 metres (6.10 s).
Floyd's top performance in the 100 m occurred on June 5, 1982 when winning the 1982 NCAA 100 m title in
Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU).
Provo lies between the ...
where he clocked 10.03. This was the NCAA meet record until 1990.
Floyd in 1983 retired from track & field to try his luck at American football in the
National Football League (NFL). At the time he has stated he felt he lacked the necessary motivation required to continue his sprinting career and try for another Olympics.
He achieved little success with American football - he was dropped by the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
, then by the
Los Angeles Express of the
United States Football League (USFL), and then failed to make the cut with the
Houston Oilers. So in 1987 he successfully fought for the right to run again as an athlete.
Rankings
Floyd was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 m sprint events over the period 1980 to 1987, according to the votes of the experts of ''
Track and Field News''.
Floyd also showed early promise as 200 m runner, and in 1981 was ranked seventh in the world and fifth in the US by those same experts of Track and Field News.
Personal life
Floyd's wife,
Delisa Walton-Floyd
Delisa Walton-Floyd (born Delisa Walton, 28 July 1961) is a former World-Class middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres; she was a two-time NCAA, National Collegiate champion, and two-time U.S. Open champion in her event. Delisa Wa ...
, was a former world-class middle-distance runner for
Detroit-
Mackenzie High School and the
University of Tennessee. Walton-Floyd placed fifth in the 800 meter run at the 1988 Summer Olympics; her personal best (1:57.80) still ranks fifth all-time among American 800 meter runners.
Stanley and Delisa have two daughters, Ebonie and Kalyn. Ebonie, who is coached by her father, was an NCAA All-American sprinter at the University of Houston; producing the fourth fastest 200 meters (22.32) in the world during 2007. By virtue of her sixth-place finish (400 meters) at the 2008 US Olympic Trials, Ebonie earned a position on the Olympic Team as a member of the 4x400 meter relay squad. Younger sister, Kalyn Floyd, was a three-time All American sprinter for the University of Houston track team.
Floyd was accepted into the
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and the
Albany Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
After retiring again from athletics, Floyd became a police officer on the Houston Vice Squad. He is now retired from the police service and resides in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.
'Athletes still feel chill of Cold War boycott', Paul Buker, OregonLive.com, June 26, 2008.
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References
Further reading
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External links
*
Track & Field News Official World Rankings - Mens 100 meters
Track & Field News Cover, February 1981
{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd, Stanley
1961 births
Living people
American male sprinters
Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia
Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state)
Houston Cougars men's track and field athletes
Place of birth missing (living people)
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners