With the possible exception of Sol Butler, Ned Gourdin of Harvard was the first of the great black long jumpers (he was also part Seminole Native American). On 23 July 1921, at the Harvard-Yale vs. Oxford/Cambridge meet, he set a world record of 25-3 (7.69), defeating the British first string, Harold Abrahams, by the shattering margin of almost three feet. This was the first legal long jump over 25 feet. Gourdin was also an outstanding sprinter and at the same meet defeated Abrahams, the future Olympic champion of “Chariots of Fire” fame, in the 100y. Gourdin won the AAU long jump in 1921, the pentathlon in 1921-22, and the IC4A long jump in 1921. Gourdin, a lawyer, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1925 and the Federal bar in 1931. He became a U.S. attorney in 1936 and in 1958 became the first black to become a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
Personal Bests: LJ – 7.69 (1921).
United States