Archie Hahn
Archie Hahn
01.11.1941 (82 years) (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Charles Archibald Hahn (September 14, 1880 – January 21, 1955) was an American track athlete and one of the best sprinters in the early 20th century. Having won sprint events at the 1903 American and Canadian championships, Hahn—born in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, but running for the University of Michigan—was among the favorites at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, which was poorly attended by European athletes. In the first event at those Games, the 60 m, Hahn benefited from his quick start and won, making him a favorite for the remaining events he was entered in, the 100 m and 200 m. His run in the 200 m final delivered him the gold and a good time, although the latter was flattered, because the race was run on a straight course. In his third event, he again outclassed the field, thus winning all sprint events. In 1906, the "Milwaukee Meteor" repeated his Olympic 100 m victory in Athens, a feat not equaled until 1988, when Carl Lewis won the 100 m twice in a row (after the disqualification of Ben Johnson). In 1910 he outran a racehorse in a 50-yard dash at the Wisconsin State Fair.After his running career, Hahn became a coach and wrote the classic book How to Sprint. He coached track and number of other sports at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, Whitman College, Brown University, Michigan, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia. At Virginia he led the Cavaliers to 12 state championships in 13 years. He died in 1955, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hahn was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1959. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1984 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.