Nick Newton

Newton Starting Blocks

Milton "Nick" Newton (born November 6, 1933 in Tarboro, North Carolina)^[1] is the inventor of the Newton Starting Blocks. Newton blocks are considered by many to be the best in the world,^[2] used at many major track meets like the Mt. SAC Relays.

Starting blocks are the device sprinters use to hold their feet at the start of a race so they don't slip as they push out at the sound of the gun.

Using his experience as a tool and dye maker for Waste King, Newton invented a cast aluminum block design^[3] as an improvement for his daughter Pam, who was excelling in girl's track. Newton's solid, but lightweight versions greatly improved on the flimsy or rusty old devices that had been standard equipment for decades.^[4] First patented in 1978 ^[5] Newton has subsequently patented two additional innovations^[6][7] to offer sprinters more possible settings to prepare for their start.

He became heavily involved as a mentor for the L.A. Mercurettes Track Club, an elite track club of the 1970s and 80's. In 1976, he joined Olympian John Carlos in an athletic delegation arranged by Henry Kissinger to the then segregated South Africa which was a step to the desegregation of athletics in that country.

Athletic Accomplishments

A proficient Masters sprinter and high jumper, Newton was an early practitioner of the sport after turning 40 in the 1970s. He set many records even after surviving a battle with testicular cancer.^[8] He once held the World Record for the M60 division High Jump.^[9] In 2004, he was elected into the Masters division of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.^[10]

References

1. ^ http://masterstrack.com/2010/04/10168/ Masters Track
2. ^ http://www.vsathletics.com/product.php?xProd=585 VS Athletics
3. ^ http://www.onlinesports.com/pages/I,SKH-T1007.html Online Sports
4. ^ http://www.scstriders.org/NewsLetters/FASTRACKS-4-200602.pdf SC Striders
5. ^ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4089519.html Free Patents
6. ^ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4611803.html Free Patents 2
7. ^ http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4561650.html Free Patents 3
8. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=A9BMKI85eGYC&pg=PA53&dq=%22Nick+Newton%22+masters&cd=2#v=onepage&q=%22Nick%20Newton%22%20masters&f=false Growing old is not for sissies II: portraits of senior athletes By Etta Clark P53
9. ^ http://www.mastersathletics.net/High-Jump-Men-All-Time-Masters-Athleti.461.0.html Masters Athletics all time High Jump leaders
10. ^ http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/Masters/ Masters Hall of Fame

Persondata
Name	Newton, Nick
Alternative names
Short description	Sprinter, Inventor
Date of birth	November 6, 1933
Place of birth	Tarboro, North Carolina
Date of death
Place of death