Ralph Metcalfe biography
Ralph Metcalfe, in full Ralph Harold Metcalfe, (born May 30, 1910, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.—died Oct. 10, 1978, Chicago, Ill.), American sprinter, member of the American 4 × 100-meter relay crew that received a gold medal on the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. At his peak, in 1934–35, he was known as “the world’s fastest human”; in 1932 and 1936 he received Olympic silver medals within the 100-metre sprint, dropping shut races to his nice rivals Eddie Tolan and Jesse Owens.
Metcalfe was an impressive sprinter whereas rising up in Chicago and as a pupil at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wis.). While his begins have been comparatively weak, Metcalfe had a particularly lengthy stride and was famous for the energy of his finishes. In no less than eight 100-metre dashes, he tied the world file of 10.3 seconds, and he additionally tied the world file of 20.6 seconds within the 200-metre sprint. His 100-metre sprint on the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles resulted in a digital useless warmth with Tolan, each males ending in 10.38 seconds. After hours of deliberation over {a photograph} of the end, the judges decided that Tolan received by about an inch. Metcalfe additionally received a bronze medal within the 200-metre sprint on the 1932 Games.
Metcalfe once more completed second within the 100-metre sprint on the 1936 Olympics; the victor, a tenth of a second quicker, was Owens, whom Metcalfe defeated at different monitor meets. After his retirement following the 1936 Games, Metcalfe attended the University of Southern California (M.A., 1939) and engaged in an extended political profession, serving as a Chicago alderman and Democratic ward committeeman, then as a U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1971–78).