From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Stanley Wint (May 25, 1920 – October 19,
1992) was the first Jamaican
Olympic gold medalist, winning the 400 m at 1948
Summer Olympics.
Arthur Wint, known as the Gentle Giant, was born in Plowden, Manchester, Jamaica. In 1937 he was the
Jamaica Boy Athlete of the year, the following year he won a gold
medal in the 800 m at the Central American Games in Panama.
In 1942 he joined the British Commonwealth
Air Training Plan and set the Canadian 400 m record while
training there. He was sent to Britain for active combat during the World War II as a
pilot. He left the Royal Air Force in 1947 to attend St Bartholomew's Hospital as
a medical student.
In 1948 Wint won Jamaica’s first Olympic gold for the 400 m
(46.2) in London, beating his
team-mate Herb
McKenley. In 800 m he won silver after American Mal Whitfield. He probably missed his
third medal in London Games by pulling a muscle in the 4 x 400 m relay final.
In Helsinki 1952 he was
part of the historic team setting the world record while capturing
the gold in 4 x 400 m relay. He also won silver in 800 m, again
coming second to Mal Whitfield.
He ran his final race in 1953 at Wembley Stadium, finished his internship,
graduated as a doctor and the following year he was made a Member of the British Empire
(MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1955 Wint returned to Jamaica eventually settling in Hanover as the only resident doctor in the
parish. In 1973 he was awarded the Jamaica honour of the Order of
Distinction. He served as Jamaica's High Commissioner to Britain
and ambassador to Sweden and Denmark from 1974 to 1978. He was
inducted in the Black Athlete’s Hall of Fame in the US (1977), the
Jamaica Sports Hall of Fame (1989) and the Central American &
Caribbean Athletic Confederation Hall of Fame (2003).
Arthur Wint died in Linstead, aged 72.
External
links
| Olympic
Champions in Men's 4×400 m Relay |
|
1908 United States:
(medley) William F. Hamilton, Nathaniel
Cartmell, John
Taylor, Mel
Sheppard · 1912 United States: Mel Sheppard, Edward
Lindberg, Ted Meredith, Charles
Reidpath · 1920 Great Britain: Cecil
Griffiths, Robert Lindsay, John Ainsworth-Davies, Guy
Butler · 1924 United States: Commodore
Cochran, Alan
Helffrich, Oliver
MacDonald, William
Stevenson · 1928 United States: George Baird, Emerson
Spencer, Frederick
Alderman, Ray
Barbuti · 1932 United States: Ivan Fuqua, Edgar
Ablowich, Karl Warner, Bill
Carr · 1936 Great Britain: Frederick
Wolff, Godfrey Rampling, William Roberts, Godfrey
Brown · 1948 United States: Arthur Harnden,
Clifford
Bourland, Roy Cochran, Mal
Whitfield · 1952 Jamaica: Arthur Wint, Leslie Laing, Herb McKenley, George
Rhoden · 1956 United States: Charlie
Jenkins, Louis
Jones, Jesse Mashburn,
Tom
Courtney · 1960 United States: Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, Otis
Davis · 1964 United States: Ollan Cassell, Michael
Larrabee, Ulis Williams, Henry
Carr · 1968 United States: Vincent
Matthews, Ron
Freeman, Larry James, Lee
Evans · 1972 Kenya: Charles Asati, Hezahiah
Nyamau, Robert
Ouko, Julius
Sang · 1976 United States: Herman Frazier,
Benjamin Brown, Fred Newhouse, Maxie Parks ·
1980 Soviet
Union: Remigijus Valiulis, Mikhail
Linge, Nikolay
Chernetsky, Viktor
Markin · 1984 United States: Sunder Nix, Ray Armstead,
Alonzo Babers, Antonio
McKay · 1988 United States: Danny Everett, Steve
Lewis, Kevin
Robinzine, Butch
Reynolds · 1992 United States: Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts,
Michael Johnson, Steve
Lewis · 1996 United States: LaMont Smith, Alvin
Harrison, Derek Mills, Anthuan
Maybank · 2000 Vacant:
·
2004 United
States: Otis
Harris, Derrick
Brew, Jeremy Wariner,
Darold
Williamson · 2008 United States: LaShawn
Merritt, Angelo
Taylor, David Neville, Jeremy
Wariner
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