John Coard Taylor (January 1, 1901 – June 25, 1946) was an American track and field athlete who placed fifth in the men's 400 meters at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was national champion in the 220-yd low hurdles in 1922 and IC4A champion in 1922 and 1923.[1]

Biography

Taylor, descended from early Dutch settlers in New York City, was born in Cranford, New Jersey. He studied at Princeton University, which had a strong track and field team under coach Keene Fitzpatrick.[2] In 1922, his junior year, Taylor won the 220-yard hurdles in 23.9 at the intercollegiate (IC4A) championships and in 24.6 at the AAU national championships; in the AAU meet he represented the New York Athletic Club.[3][4] The following year he repeated as IC4A champion in the low hurdles (23.8) and placed a close second behind Allen Woodring in the 440 yards; his estimated time, 48.4y, ranked him third in the world that year.[5][6]

Taylor won the 400 meters at the 1924 United States Olympic Trials in Cambridge, Massachusetts; he ran his lifetime best, 48.1, in the heats and repeated that time in the final, defeating the eventual Olympic silver medalist Horatio Fitch.[7]: 56–57 [note 1] At the Olympics in Paris Taylor qualified for the final; he remained in medal contention until his sore ankle gave way just before the finish. He eventually crawled across the finish line and placed fifth; the injury ended his athletic career.[7][9][10]

In 1926 Taylor joined the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation; he was named the company's general sales manager in 1931 and vice president in charge of sales in 1937. Still working for Ethyl, Taylor died of a heart attack in New York City on June 25, 1946; he was survived by his wife and three sons.[11][12]

Notes

  1. ^ Taylor's 48.1 was a world best for the metric distance, but inferior to Ted Meredith's 440-yard (402.3 m) time of 47 2⁄5 seconds. At the time, a better mark over a longer distance was not automatically a world record for the shorter event as well; this was changed in 1926.[8]

References

  1. ^ "John Coard Taylor". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  2. ^ Leitch, Alexander (2015). A Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press. p. 473. ISBN 9781400870011. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. ^ Squire, Jesse. "IC4A Championships (1876-1942)". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. ^ "Records Broken in Senior Meet". The Sacramento Union. September 10, 1922. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "Bears Win Over Eastern Teams in I.C.A.A.A.A. Annual Events". Arizona Republic. May 27, 1923. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  6. ^ "Track and Field Statistics: Men, 400 m – All Years". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Hymans, Richard (2008). "The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field" (PDF). USA Track & Field. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Hymans, Richard; Matrahazi, Imre (2015). "Progression of IAAF World Records" (PDF). International Association of Athletics Federations. p. 49. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  9. ^ "U.S. Jinxed In 400 Meter Race At Olympic Meet". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. April 25, 1928. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "120 Olympic Stars Retire From Track". Chicago Tribune. January 11, 1925. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  11. ^ "Obituaries – J. Coard Taylor '23". Princeton Alumni Weekly. October 11, 1946. p. 26. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  12. ^ "J. Coard Taylor, Official of Ethyl; Vice President in Charge of Sales for Oil Firm Dies--Track Star at Princeton". The New York Times. June 26, 1946.
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