Leonard Paulu
| Leonard Paulu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 23, 1896 Vining, Iowa, United States |
| Died | May 29, 1988 (aged 91) Iowa |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Sprinter, teacher, coach |
| Known for | NCAA champion, 100-yard dash (1921–1922), 220 yard dash (1922) |
Leonard Theodore Paulu (November 23, 1896 – May 29, 1988) was an American sprinter for Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Despite losing an eye and suffering serious injuries to his right leg and hip while serving in World War I, he won the 100-yard dash competition at the first two NCAA track and field championships in 1921 and 1922. He also won the 220 yard dash at the 1922 NCAA championships.
Paulu was born in Vining, Iowa. He was the only son among the nine children of a Congregational preacher and Czech immigrant, Rev. Anton Paulu. He attended boarding school in Toledo, Iowa. Paulu later recalled that he worked for his room and board at the boarding school and lived in a room in the basement.
He enrolled at Grinnell College in 1915. He struggled academically while working to pay for the cost of his education and dropped out of school, before completing his freshman year to work full-time.
When the United States entered World War I, Paulu enlisted in the U.S. Army. In September 1918, he was wounded near Saint-Mihiel, France, when a German shell struck a nearby tree. Shrapnel from the shell "ripped into his body in four places," including his leg and eye. He later recalled that "one fragment entered just in front of the right ear and came out through the eye," and other fragments became lodged in his right leg and hip. As a result of the wounds, Paulu lost his right eye, and his right-leg stride was four inches shorter than that of his left leg. He was fitted with a glass eye which he occasionally lost and reportedly ran with his "head cocked to one side."
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