Wesley Coe

Wesley Coe

Coe at the Chicago Daily News building, 1904
Personal information
Full name	Wesley William Coe, Jr.
Nationality	United States
Born	May 8, 1879 Boston, Massachusetts
Died	December 24, 1926(1926-12-24) (aged 47) Bozeman, Montana
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Sport
Sport	Track and field athletics
Event(s)	Shot put
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1904 St. Louis Shot put

Wesley William Coe, Jr. (May 8, 1879 – December 24, 1926), sometimes listed as William Wesley Coe, Jr., was an American track and field athlete who competed principally in the shot put and also in the hammer throw, discus throw, and tug of war.

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Coe competed for the University of Oxford and became the shot put champion of England in 1901 and 1902. He was also the first American athlete to be awarded a "blue." He returned to the United States in 1902 and won the silver medal in the shot put at the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri.

Between 1905 and 1907, Coe set world records in the 8-, 12-, and 16-pound shot put events. As a member of the Michigan Wolverines men's track and field team, he won the 1906 national intercollegiate championship in the shot put and placed second in the discus.

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England, he finished fourth in the shot put. In 1920, at age 41, he won the 56-pound weight event at the British Championships.

Coe was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1879 and raised in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was the son of William W. Coe, Sr., and Annie Coe. He began his education in the Boston public schools and subsequently attended preparatory schools, including Noble and Greenough School in Boston. In 1897, while attending Noble and Greenough, Coe was already competing in the shot put and recorded a distance of 35 feet, 7 inches. In 1898, while attending the Frye School, he won the interscholastic championship with a distance of 41 feet, 9 inches.