Chan Coulter

In 1924 Chan Coulter set a world record of 53.2 for the 440 yd hurdles. It was ratified by the AAU but not by the IAAF. He competed for the University of Iowa and briefly at West Point. Coulter made the 1924 Olympic team by finishing third at the Final Trials. He was also fourth that year at the AAU Meet. Coulter later became an insurance salesman in Pittsburgh for one year before moving back to Ohio, where he sold insurance and coached track at Case Western Reserve.

Coulter had trained in ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) in college and in Ohio, he served the Ohio National Guard 37th Division. The Division was called to active duty in 1940, with Coulter as division commander. He trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and then served in the South Pacific in 1942. After the war he continued in the Reserves as Commanding Officer of the 410th Infantry Regiment, retiring in 1965 as a colonel. In the 1950s and 60s Coulter lived in Iowa where he worked as a farmer.

Personal Bests: 440y – 49.0 (1925); 400H – 53.2 (1924).