John Taylor (athlete)

John Baxter Taylor, Jr. (November 3, 1882, Washington, DC – December 2 1908, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American track and field athlete, notable as the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal.

Taylor was a member of the gold medal medley relay team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. He ran the third leg, performing the 400 metres. He followed William F. Hamilton and Nathaniel Cartmell and was followed by Mel Sheppard. In both the first round and the final, Taylor received a lead from Cartmell and passed one on to Sheppard. The team won both races, with times of 3:27.2 and 3:29.4. Taylor was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal. His split for the final was 49.8 seconds.

He advanced to the finals in the men's 400 metres race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, winning his preliminary heat with a time of 50.8 seconds and his semifinal with 49.8 seconds. In the first running of the race, Taylor came in last place out of the four runners. However, teammate John C. Carpenter was disqualified after wilfully obstructing British runner Wyndham Halswelle and the race was ordered to be repeated without Carpenter. Taylor and fellow American William Robbins declined to compete in the second final in protest of Carpenter's disqualification.

Taylor died of typhoid fever on 2 December 1908, shortly after returning from the Olympics.

References

* [http://iviesinchina.com/may-his-memory-never-wane/ May His Memory Never Wane]

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External links

* [http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/people/1800s/taylorjb.html Biography at the University of Pennsylvania]

Persondata
NAME=Taylor, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American athlete
DATE OF BIRTH=November 11, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH=Washington, DC
DATE OF DEATH=December 2 1908
PLACE OF DEATH=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania