Jack Keller (athlete)

John Alton Claude "Jack" Keller (October 23, 1911 – June 3, 1978) was an American hurdler who set world records in both the 120 yard/110 meter hurdles and the 220 yard hurdles. He won the 110 m hurdles at the 1932 United States Olympic Trials but narrowly missed out on a medal at the Olympics, placing a close fourth.

Jack Keller studied at Ohio State University and succeeded sprinter George Simpson as the Ohio State Buckeyes' leading track and field star. As a sophomore in 1931, he won the 220 yard hurdles in 23.5 at the Big Ten conference meet; he was favored in the 120 yard hurdles as well, but was narrowly defeated by Illinois's Lee Sentman in a world-record-equaling 14.4. He then led Ohio State to a second-place finish in the NCAA Championships, winning both the 120 yard hurdles (14.6) and the 220 yard hurdles (23.8) in difficult conditions and tying for highest points scorer of the meet.

Keller continued to improve in 1932 and won that year's Big Ten 120-yard title in a world-record-breaking 14.0, defeating Iowa's new star George Saling. However, due to wind assistance this time could not be ratified as a record. Keller and Saling then split the two races at the NCAA Championships on June 11, both running under the respective world records: Saling won the 120 yard hurdles in 14.1 as Keller placed third, while Keller defended his title in the longer race, beating Saling by a step in 22.7 to break Charles Brookins's world record of 23.0. However, neither time was ratified as a world record.

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