Harry Jerome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1964 Tokyo | 100 metres | |
Henry "Harry" Winston Jerome (September 30, 1940 – December 7, 1982) was a Canadian track and field runner. He was the grandson of John Howard, a railway porter who represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, he moved to North Vancouver at age 12.
He competed in college for Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon. He competed for Canada in the 1960, 1964, and 1968 Summer Olympics, winning 100 metre bronze in 1964. He also won the gold in the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the 1967 Pan American Games. During his career, Jerome set a total seven world records, including running the 100 metres in 10.2, 10.1 and finally 10.0 seconds successively, despite suffering an injury so severe at the Perth Commonwealth Games in 1962 that doctors initially believed he would never walk again.
After retiring from athletics in 1969, he was invited by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to help create Canada's new Ministry of Sport. Jerome held a number of senior positions in the ministry but resigned over the government's cancellation of a large-scale public-private partnership he had negotiated with Kellogg's to promote youth participation in athletics.
In 1970 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2001 he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
The Harry Jerome International Track Classic - a prestigious track and field meet held annually at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia - is named in Jerome's honour. The Harry Jerome Sports Centre, home to the Burnaby Velodrome, in Burnaby, British Columbia is named after Jerome, as are the weight room at his Alma Mater the University of Oregon and the track and field stadium in Prince Albert. The Stanley Park sea wall in his native Vancouver is graced with a 9-foot bronze statue of him. The annual Harry Jerome Awards, the national awards dinner for Canada's black community organized by the Black Business and Professionals Association (BBPA), is named after him.
Harry Jerome died of a brain aneurysm in December 1982, at the age of only 42.
[edit] Achievements
- 1960 World Record 100 m: 10.2
- 1960 Olympic Games 100 m Canadian team member
- 1961 World Record 100 yds: 9.3
- 1962 World Record 100 yds: 9.2
- 1964 Summer Olympics 100 m: 3rd 10.2 / 200 m: 4th 20.7
- 1966 World Record 100 yds: 9.1
- 1966 Commonwealth Games 100 yds: 1st 9.4
- 1967 Pan American Games 100 m 1st 10.2
- 1968 Summer Olympics 100 m: 7th 10.2
[edit] References
- Harry Winston Jerome. Canada's Walk of Fame. Retrieved on July 13, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Harry Jerome International Track Classic
- Harry Jerome on Find-A-Grave
- University of Oregon [1]
