George Brown (long jumper)

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Brown in 1954

George Henry Brown Jr. (July 25, 1931 – July 23, 2018)[1][2] was an American long jumper. He was the world's best jumper between 1951 and 1953 and the favorite at the 1952 Summer Olympics, but he fouled on all his jumps in the Olympic final.

Career

Early career

Brown attended

Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1949.[8]

Brown graduated from high school that year and went to first

NCAA[10] and United States championships[11] and topping both the world list and the Track & Field News rankings.[6][7] He went undefeated for the year,[12] with a best jump of 26 ft 1 in (7.95 m) from Tokyo on July 18.[9][13]

1952

Brown's good form continued in 1952. On May 10 he improved his personal best to 26 ft 3+1⁄4 in (8.00 m) at the

Buzz Taylor, but Brown's last-round leap of 25 ft 11+1⁄8 in (7.90 m) secured him another title and victory.[15] He also successfully defended his title at the national championships, jumping 25 ft 9 in (7.84 m) and defeating runner-up Meredith Gourdine by more than a foot.[11][16]

Brown entered the 1952

Olympic Trials as a clear favorite.[12] He had won 41 consecutive competitions going back to 1950,[12][16][17] and in a coaches' poll ahead of the Trials 29 of 31 respondents predicted that Brown would win.[18] He did not, however, and nearly failed to even make the team; with only one round left, he had a best of 24 ft 7+1⁄2 in (7.50 m) and was four inches behind Taylor, who held the third and final qualifying spot.[12] On his last jump Brown improved to 25 ft 1+1⁄2 in (7.66 m), overtaking Taylor by two inches to join Gourdine and Jerome Biffle on the Olympic team.[12]

Despite his third place at the Trials Brown remained the Olympic favorite.

Henk Visser were the only two to foul out.[22] The other Americans, Biffle and Gourdine, won gold and silver.[20]

Despite his losses at the Trials and the Olympics, Brown still maintained his top spot in the Track & Field News rankings as the best jumper of 1952.[7] He also topped the world list for the second consecutive year, 9+1⁄8 in (23 cm) ahead of Taylor.[6]

Later career

Brown joined the

U.S. Army in 1953 but remained the world's top jumper, winning the United States championship with a jump of 25 ft 10+3⁄4 in (7.89 m)[11][23] and leading both the world list and the Track & Field News rankings for a third consecutive year.[6][7] In 1954 he was defeated at the national championships by John Bennett[11] and slipped to third behind Bennett and Hungary's Ödön Földessy in the world rankings.[7]

After an off year in 1955 Brown made a comeback in 1956.

Greg Bell, who was third.[11][25] At the Olympic Trials, however, he only placed 13th with a jump of 23 ft 8+1⁄4 (7.21 m) and failed to make the Olympic team.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "George Brown Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  2. The McClatchy Company
    . August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Track and Field Record 1949 Season" (PDF). Helms Athletic Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  4. ^
    Long Beach Press-Telegram
    . Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "UCLA Hall Of Fame To Add Eight New Members". UCLA Athletics. October 30, 2007. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d "Track and Field Statistics". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c d e "World Rankings — Men's Long Jump" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved May 2, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Track & Field News - the Bible of the Sport Since 1948". Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  9. ^ a b c "George Brown". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  10. ^ Hill, E. Garry. "A History of the NCAA Championships" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved May 6, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ a b c d e Mallon, Bill; Buchanan, Ian; Track & Field News. "A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2011". Track & Field News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field". USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  13. Reno Evening Gazette
    . July 18, 1951. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  14. ^ "Track Records Fall At Fresno". Winnipeg Free Press. May 10, 1952. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  15. ^ Delano, Fred (June 18, 1952). "Bruins' Broad Jumper Brown Best Bet To Retain AAU Crown". Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  16. ^
    Salt Lake Tribune
    . June 21, 1952. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  17. ^ Panama, Charles A. (June 28, 1952). "Darrow Hooper's Shotput Heave Assures Olympic Berth". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  18. ^ Delano, Fred (June 26, 1952). "Stanfield and Moore are Unanimous Picks". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Petersen, Leo H. (July 21, 1952). "Yanks Push Soviet Stars At Helsinki". The Times-News. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  20. ^
    St. Petersburg Times
    . Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  21. ^
    The Afro-American
    . Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  22. ^ "Athletics at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games: Men's Long Jump". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  23. ^ "Santee Tries For Record". Racine Journal Times. June 27, 1953. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  24. ^ a b c Hymans, Richard. "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field; Track & Field News. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  25. ^ "Shelby Hits 26 ft. 1 1/4 in". Van Nuys News. June 24, 1956. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
Awards
Preceded by Track & Field News High School Boys Athlete of the Year
1949 		Succeeded by
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