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Frank Wykoff
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1928 Amsterdam | 4x100 m relay | |
| Gold | 1932 Los Angeles | 4x100 m relay | |
| Gold | 1936 Berlin | 4x100 m relay | |
Frank Clifford Wykoff (October 29, 1909 - January 1, 1980) was an American athlete, triple gold medal winner in 4x100 m relay at the Olympic Games.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Frank Wykoff has a place in track and field history by being the first man to ever win three Olympic relay gold medals, all in world record time.
Wykoff made his debut at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, where he finished fourth in the 100 m and ran an opening leg in the American 4x100 m relay team, which equalled the world record of 41.0 seconds in the final.
After the Olympics, Wykoff enrolled at the University of Southern California where he came under the tutelage of the famous coach Dean Cromwell. He won the AAU championships in 100 yd in 1928 and 1931 and NCAA championships in 100 yd in 1930 and 1931. He ran a new world record in 100 yd of 9.4 s in May, 1930 and repeated it a month later. In 1931, as an anchor of the University of Southern California 4x100 m relay team, he set a new world record of 40.8.
At the 1932 Summer Olympics, Wykoff ran the fourth leg in a world record (40.0 s) setting American 4x100 m relay team. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he again finished fourth in 100 m and again anchored the American 4x100 m relay team to gold with a new world record of 39.8.
Following his graduation from USC in 1932 Wykoff earned a master's degree in 1936 and became a teacher and administrator. Wykoff worked for the Los Angeles County school system until retiring in 1972. Frank Wykoff died in Altadena, California, aged 70.
A slogan of Wykoff's, "Clean Speech, Clean Sport, Clean Scholarship, Clean Life," was adopted by the YMCA in 1938.
| Olympic champions in men's 4×100 m relay |
|---|
| 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 |
| 1928 United States Frank Wykoff, James Quinn, Charles Borah & Henry Russell 1932 United States Robert Kiesel, Emmett Toppino, Hector Dyer & Frank Wykoff 1936 United States Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper & Frank Wykoff |
Categories: 1909 births | 1980 deaths | American sprinters | American track and field athletes | Olympic competitors for the United States | Athletes at the 1928 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1932 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics | Olympic gold medalists for the United States