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Ivory Crockett

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Ivory Crockett
Crockett in 1969
Personal information
Born(1948-08-24)August 24, 1948(age 76)[1]
Halls,Tennessee,U.S.
Sport
SportAthletics
EventSprint
Achievements and titles
Personalbest(s)100 yd – 9.0 (1974)
100 m – 10.1 (1971)
200 m – 20.2 (1972)[1]

Ivory Crockett(born August 24, 1948) is a retired Americansprinterwho, for a time, was "the world's fastest man" when he broke the world record for the100-yard dashin 1974.

Career

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Crockett was born in Halls,Tennessee,where his father was a sharecropper. His family moved to Missouri when Crockett was a young boy.[citation needed]

Crockett was a track star from his time at high school inWebster GrovesinSt. Louis County, Missouri.In 1968 as a senior he ran the second fastest time that year by a high-school student. He was recruited toSouthern Illinois UniversityinCarbondale, Illinois,where he competed successfully on their track team, including becoming twice USA champion in the 100 yards sprint, in 1969 and 1970.[2]

In 1974, he ran the fastest100-yard dashwith manual timing of 9.0 seconds, a record he still holds.[3]This was deemed at the time by theLos Angeles Timesas "Immortality in 9 Seconds Flat",[4]and he was quickly tagged with the titlethe world's fastest manbyTrack and Field News[5]who put him on their June 1974 cover.[6]

Crockett never ran in the Olympics for the USA having been eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 1972USA Olympics trialsand the quarter-finals of the 1976 trials.[7]

After college, he moved back to Webster Groves where he had attended Brentwood andWebster Groves High School.His local community recognised his achievements by naming a park in his honour, 'Ivory Crockett Park'.[8]As a gift to his local community, Crockett started in 2004 'The Ivory Crockett Run "4" Webster', a fun walk/run.[9]

Some people questioned his winning of his national titles because rivals were missing, and demeaned the legitimacy of his world record. This rankled because he was married and had had to battle financial tough times to keep on running.[10]

Crockett became an administrator and director of business development for the College of Nursing at Forest Park Hospital in St Louis, Missouri.[citation needed]

World rankings

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Crockett was voted to be ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100 m sprint event in the period from 1969 to 1974, according toTrack and Field News.[11][12]He was also voted to be ranked 10th in the US and 4th in the world in the 200 m sprint in 1973.[13][14]

100 meters
Year World rank US rank
1969 4th 2nd
1970 9th 5th
1971 – 9th
1972[15] – 7th
1973[16] 10th 3rd
1974[17] 6th 3rd

References

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  1. ^abWilliam Alley.trackfield.brinkster.net
  2. ^"A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003".Track and Field News.Archived fromthe originalon June 9, 2013.RetrievedJune 17,2012.
  3. ^All-time best performances at 100 yards with manual timing.alltime-athletics.com
  4. ^Bob Oates (1974)Immortality in 9 seconds flat,LA Times.
  5. ^Jon Hendershott (June 1974)Track and Field News InterviewArchivedNovember 3, 2012, at theWayback Machine.
  6. ^Past Covers 1967ArchivedMarch 4, 2016, at theWayback Machine.trackandfieldnews.com
  7. ^Richard Hymans (2008)The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & FieldArchivedMarch 27, 2016, at theWayback Machine.USA Track & Field, 2008
  8. ^Ivory Crockett Park,Webster Groves. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  9. ^The Ivory Crockett Run "4" Webster,Sports Medicine Training Center. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  10. ^Pat Putnam (June 3, 1974)"Gold To Ivory... For sprinter Ivory Crockett, the unappreciated world-record holder...".Sports Illustrated.Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  11. ^"World Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters"(PDF).Track and Field News.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 9, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 4,2012.
  12. ^"U.S. Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters"(PDF).Track and Field News.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 9, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 4,2012.
  13. ^"World Rankings Index—Men's 200 meters"(PDF).Track and Field News.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 14, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 4,2012.
  14. ^"U.S. Rankings Index—Men's 200 meters"(PDF).Track and Field News.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 13, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 4,2012.
  15. ^1972 Year Rankings at 100m.libero.it
  16. ^1973 Year Rankings at 100m.libero.it
  17. ^1974 Year Rankings at 100m.libero.it
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