Herb McKenley
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Herbert Henry "Herb"•McKenley |
| Used name | Herb•McKenley |
| Nick/petnames | Hustling Herb |
| Born | 10 July 1922 in Pleasant Valley, Clarendon (JAM) |
| Died | 26 November 2007 in Kingston, Kingston (JAM) |
| Measurements | 185 cm / 72 kg |
| Affiliations | Illinois Fighting Illini, Champaign (USA) |
| NOC |  Jamaica |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 1 |
| Silver | 3 |
| Bronze | 0 |
| Total | 4 |
Biography
Herb McKenley was a legendary runner in Jamaica, winning everything available to him except an individual gold medal. He attended Boston College and won the AAU Championship in 1945 and 1947-48, after finishing as runner-up in 1944 and 1946. He is uniquely the only man to have made the final round at the Olympics in all three sprints – 100, 200, and 400, and in 1951, at the Pan American Games, he was the bronze medalist in all three events. In 1948 he twice set individual world records, once for 400 metres (45.9) and once for 440 yards (46.0). He later became a track coach and administrator in his native Jamaica, and maintained a guiding hand in the track & field program at his alma mater, Calabar High School.
Personal Bests: 100 – 10.3 (1949); 200 – 20.8 (1959); 400 – 45.7y (1948).
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 Summer Olympics | Athletics | JAM |
Herb McKenley | |||
| 200 metres, Men (Olympic) | 4 | |||||
| 400 metres, Men (Olympic) | 2 | Silver | ||||
| 4 × 100 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Jamaica | |||||
| 4 × 400 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Jamaica | AC r2/2 | ||||
| 1952 Summer Olympics | Athletics | JAM |
Herb McKenley | |||
| 100 metres, Men (Olympic) | 2 | Silver | ||||
| 200 metres, Men (Olympic) | ||||||
| 400 metres, Men (Olympic) | 2 | Silver | ||||
| 4 × 400 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Jamaica | 1 | Gold |
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Summer Pan American Games (0–0–3 1951 Buenos Aires ATH bronze: 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games (3–4–1 1946 Barranquilla ATH gold: 4×400 m relay, silver: 100 m and 400 m, bronze: 200 m; 1950 Ciudad de Guatemala ATH gold: 200 m and 400 m, silver: 100 m and 4×100 m relay)
- Listed in Olympic Order Recipients (1992 (Silver))