Henry Carr (center) at the 1964 Olympics
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Personal information | ||||||||||
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Born |
Montgomery, Alabama, United States |
November 27, 1941|||||||||
Died | May 29, 2015 Griffin, Georgia, United States |
(aged 73)|||||||||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||
Weight | 84 kg (185 lb) | |||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||
Sport | Sprint running | |||||||||
Club | Phoenix Olympic Club | |||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 100 yd – 9.3 (1963) 100 m – 10.2 (1964) 200 m – 20.1 (1964) 400 – 45.4 (1963) |
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Medal record
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No. 28 | |||
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Position: | Safety | ||
Personal information | |||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
College: | Arizona State | ||
NFL Draft: | 1965 / Round: 4 / Pick: 43 | ||
Career history | |||
Career NFL statistics | |||
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Player stats at PFR |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Henry Carr (November 27, 1941 – May 29, 2015) was an American track and field athlete who won two gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1941, Carr moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan when he was young.
Prior to bringing his athletic talents to Arizona State University (ASU), Carr was a state champion sprinter for Northwestern High School in Detroit having posted a 100-yard time of 9.3 seconds. While competing for the ASU Sun Devils, he won three national titles; along the way setting world records at 220 yards and as a member of the Sun Devil 4 x 440 yard relay team.
Henry Carr won the 1963 NCAA title at 200 meters in 20.5; the same year he ran 20.69 to tie Paul Drayton for the USA title. Twice that season Carr ran world records; a non-ratified 20.4 for 220 yards and, three days later in a college triangular meet, a 20.3 for 220 yards. Henry Carr ran even faster in 1964; setting a world record of 20.2 for 220 yards. He also defeated Drayton into second place to win the national title.
It was at the 1964 Olympics where Carr would achieve his greatest fame; Carr won the 200 meters (in an Olympic Record time) and anchored the winning 4 x 400 meter relay team to a world record 3:00.7 (with Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee and Ulis Williams).
Carr had a fright in his qualification for the Olympics. He had won the semi-final trials held in New York in July and only had to prove his fitness at the final trials in September in Los Angeles. However, he was well beaten into fourth place in the final there and with only 3 to qualify he could have been eliminated. His earlier win was enough though to convince the selectors that he should go to the Olympics.