Lee Evans biography
Lee Evans, in full Lee Edward Evans, (born February 25, 1947, Madera, California, U.S.), American runner who received two gold medals on the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. His victory within the 400-metre occasion there set a world document that lasted for twenty years.
In 1966 Evans attracted nationwide consideration when he received the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 440-yard championship; the subsequent yr he received the 400-metre race on the Pan American Games, and he was the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion within the 400 metres in 1968. He set an unofficial world document of 44.0 seconds within the 400 metres through the 1968 Olympic trials.
When two of Evans’s San Jose State University teammates had been banned from the 1968 Olympics for his or her black militant protest throughout an awards ceremony, Evans threatened to drop out of the 400-metre race in a present of assist. In the tip, nonetheless, he elected to run, starting with a burst of velocity and profitable a slender victory. His profitable time was measured by automated timing at 43.86 seconds, setting a world document that will stand till 1988, when Butch Reynolds of the United States posted a time of 43.29 seconds; the excessive altitude in Mexico City was a bonus in Evans’s record-setting run. At the identical Olympics, Evans anchored the U.S. crew that received the 4 × 400-metre relay, setting a world document of two min 56.1 sec. He anticipated to race once more within the 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany, after profitable his final AAU championship, however a hamstring damage prevented his operating within the 400 metres, and the U.S. 4 × 400 relay crew, of which he was a member, didn't race.