Walter McCoy (born November 15, 1958) is an American former sprinter who qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was unable to compete due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was the largest boycott in Olympic history and one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summ ...

. He did however receive one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s created especially for the spurned athletes. He did compete in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. A native of

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

, McCoy attended

Seabreeze High School Seabreeze High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1989. Notable alumni * Duane and Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band, class of 196 ...

. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' named McCoy among their list of the best high school track and field athletes in

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

history. McCoy twice finished on the podium at 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 ...

finishing second behind fellow American

Tony Darden Tony Darden (born September 2, 1957) is an American former track and field athlete, who competed in the sprints events during his career. He is best known for winning the men's 400-meter dash at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan. Trac ...

at the

1981 AAA Championships The 1981 AAA Championships sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, Nationwide was the 1981 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 7 to 8 August 1981 at t ...

and third at the

1983 AAA Championships The 1983 AAA Championships sponsored by ( Robinsons Barley Water) was the 1983 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 23 to 24 July 1983 at the Crystal Pal ...

References

External links

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

profile fo
Walter McCoy
1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida American male sprinters Florida State Seminoles men's track and field athletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Seabreeze High School alumni Congressional Gold Medal recipients Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub