- Lloyd La Beach
Lloyd Barrington La Beach (
June 28 ,1924 –February 17 ,1999 ) is a former sprinter fromPanama who won two bronze medals at the1948 Summer Olympics , the first Olympic medals for Panama.In the
100 meters , he finished behindHarrison Dillard andBarney Ewell for third place, ahead of favoriteMel Patton . [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794455,00.html|title=Off the Mark|accessdate=2008-05-02|date=1948-08-09 |publisher=Time, Inc. |work=Time ]Born in
Panama City , his parents wereJamaica n immigrants. While Lloyd was still in school the family relocated to Jamaica, where La Beach first showed his talent in athletics. He later entered the University of California in Los Angeles, where he was coached during his preparations for the Olympic Games.In 1948, he set the world record in the
200 meters on acinder track in city-state|Compton|California.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854915,00.html|title=Winning Ways|accessdate=2008-05-02|date=1948-06-14 |publisher=Time, Inc. |work=Time ] After the race, he was described in "Time " as "Panama's one-man Olympic hope." Just a few weeks before La Beach had been involved in a world record setting100-yard dash in which barely lost at thefinish line tape to Patton. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794380,00.html|title=Winning Ways|accessdate=2008-05-02|date=1948-05-24 |publisher=Time, Inc. |work=Time ] These 1948 performances made him one of the expected medal contenders against Patton and Ewell in the Olympics. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888423-6,00.html|title=Two Minutes to Glory|accessdate=2008-05-02|date=1948-08-02 |publisher=Time, Inc. |work=Time ]He retired from athletics in 1957, and died in a New York City hospital.
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