Charles "Charlie" William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and twofold Olympic champion.
After serving in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery, Paddock - a native of Gainesville, Texas - studied at the University of Southern California. There he became a member of the track and field team, and excelled in the sprint events. He won the 100 and 200 m in the first major sporting event after the war, the 191...
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Charles "Charlie" William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and twofold Olympic champion.
After serving in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery, Paddock - a native of Gainesville, Texas - studied at the University of Southern California. There he became a member of the track and field team, and excelled in the sprint events. He won the 100 and 200 m in the first major sporting event after the war, the 1919 Inter-Allied Games, in which soldiers of the Allied nations competed against each other.
The next year, Charlie Paddock was sent out to represent his country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. In Belgium, he had his greatest successes, winning the 100 m final, while placing second in the 200 m event. With the American 4 x 100 m relay team, Paddock won a third Olympic medal. Paddock became famous for his unusual finishing style, leaping towards the finish line at the end of the race.
The next year, he ran the 110 yd, which is slightly...
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