Bill Carr

William ("Bill") Arthur Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an American athlete, a double Olympic champion in 1932. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Carr studied at Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson. Carr's favourite events were the 440 y (or 400 m), the 880 y and the long jump, but he had never managed to win a major race until 1932. At the IC4A championships of... more

William ("Bill") Arthur Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an American athlete, a double Olympic champion in 1932. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Carr studied at Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson. Carr's favourite events were the 440 y (or 400 m), the 880 y and the long jump, but he had never managed to win a major race until 1932. At the IC4A championships of that year, he caused an enormous upset by beating world record holder Ben Eastman in the 440 y. He repeated this feat some weeks later at the Olympic Trials. Now Carr was a favourite for the 400 m gold at the 1932 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles. He cruised through the heats, as did Eastman. In the final, Eastman led for most of the race, but with less than 100 m to go, Carr pulled up next to the Stanford athlete, and sprinted to victory in 46.2 seconds, a new world record, with Eastman taking the silver. Carr won another gold... less