Mel Pender
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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Born | October 31, 1937 Atlanta, Georgia , U.S. | (age 86)||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mel Pender | |
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Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | U.S. Army |
Years of service | 1955–1976 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | 82nd Airborne Division 9th Infantry Division |
Battles/wars | Cold War, Vietnam War |
Awards | Bronze Star |
Melvin Pender Jr. (born October 31, 1937, in
U.S. Army career
Pender enlisted in the
After the 1968 Olympics, Pender returned to South Vietnam where he earned a Bronze Star Medal. Returning to the U.S. in August 1970, he then worked as assistant track and field coach and then as head track coach at the United States Military Academy at West Point.[2] He later earned a bachelor's degree from Adelphi University. He retired from the Army in 1976 with the rank of Captain.
Olympic athlete
While serving in the U.S. Army his incredible speed was noticed in camp football games. He was selected to the 1964 Olympic Team, but was hampered by injury and finished seventh in the 100 meters at Tokyo.[2]
Nearing age 31, Pender again made it to the 100 m final, where his explosive start and exceptional acceleration brought him to the lead midway through the race, but he faded slightly and finished sixth. In the relay, he was chosen to run the second leg. The American team won the gold medal in a new world record of 38.24 seconds. He also set world records in the 50 yds at 5.0, 60 yds at 5.8, 70 yds at 6.8 and 100 meters at 9.9 seconds.[2]
References
- ^ "Alex Woodley, 71, Coach Of Philadelphia Track Club". The New York Times. May 26, 2004.
- ^ a b c d "Melvin Pender: The sprinter who was carted off on a stretcher - but never gave up". International Olympic Committee. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Mel Pender". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
External links
- Runners Gazette – Soldier-Athlete Mel Pender, Olympic Gold Medalist
- Adelphi University – Mel Pender ’76, ’97 (Hon.), continues to go for the gold